The talk about the models for the CSM is unnecessary, the Brussels Agreement defined everything

None of the European models for the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, which Miroslav Lajcak had spoken about in Pristina during his last visit, had no need or reason to be copied for the Serbian community in Kosovo, experts Milovan Bozinovic and Slobodan Zecevic pointed out in the interview for Kosovo Online.

The CSM must be specific, unique, and in accordance with what was agreed upon and signed in the Brussels dialogue, the interlocutors of Kosovo Online say. After all, this was recently confirmed by Lajcak himself, who, after two days of talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, said that 15 existing European models had been proposed "as an inspiration, not an alternative", in case the two agreements from 2013 .and 2015 might not provide answers to all questions.

Lajcak unequivocally stated in the broadcast on RTS that "the CSM must be established based on the agreed model", first by the Brussels Agreement a decade ago, and then based on the 23 Principles on the Formation of the Community, signed eight years ago.

He stated that Albanians had fears about the CSM and that talking about models was a way to make it clear to them that this was a European practice.

Kurti, however, has a somewhat different interpretation of the "package" of various solutions for self-government and the protection of minority communities in EU countries presented to him by Lajcak. Kurti said that certain elements could be taken from the proposed models, that is, to be analyzed by his "advisors and some of the ministers, in order to determine what is most favorable".

The information appeared in the Albanian media, regarding European diplomatic sources, that among the multitude of different models and forms of self-government for national minorities that were applied in the territory of the EU, the solution for the CSM was most sought after in the Italy-France-Germany-Belgium quadrangle.

Hence the interpretation that Italy's entry into the circle of countries that want to define but also control further steps in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina is, among other things, the result of the idea of Western political circles that the South Tyrol model should be one of the bases for the CSM.

The solutions implemented in France and Germany, which are behind the European proposal for Kosovo and Metohija, are also "in play" - namely the model of French Alsace, where the majority of the German population lives, and German Schleswig - the self-government of the Danish community there, which has the right to regulate the educational and other systems. important for the local population. The self-government that exists in eastern Belgium has been mentioned for years as a possible respectable model for the CSM, and no less chance is given to the solution implemented in the Finnish Aland Islands.

The former ambassador of Serbia in Germany, Milovan Bozinovic, tells Kosovo Online that there are many European models, that none should be rejected, but that they can only serve as an example because the CSM already has its own competencies and structure, defined by the Brussels Agreement.

"Kurti's statement about 15 models for the CSM sounds a bit like a propaganda trick to show that he has good communication with the EU, so here, as if on a plate, they got to choose what they like and that the Serbian side is the one obstructing the whole process. Such bluffs are not unusual for Pristina. I personally doubt that somebody told Kurti that he would choose according to his will. We need to show flexibility, and not reject anything in advance, but Serbia cannot, and I hope it will not give up on what was agreed in Brussels ten years ago. We have no room for someone to convince us that this is too much for the Serbian community. In the case of the CSM, it must be a model that has already been agreed upon and must be adapted to the real situation. Well, the case of Kosovo is, as Westerners themselves say, sui generis, it is neither Tyrol nor the Aland Islands," Bozinovic says.

Regarding the upcoming meeting in Ohrid, on March 18, where the talks between Vucic and Kurti should continue in the presence of EU High Representative Josep Borrell and Lajcak, Bozinovic believes that it will not be any "D-day" and that the expectations, that something decisive will happen there, are too optimistic.

"I was surprised when Lajcak said in Pristina that the CSM had not been a topic of discussion with Kurti, and then in Belgrade, he said that if there was no Community, there was no agreement. This casts doubt on the fact that, wherever he arrives, he adjusts his rhetoric towards the hosts. Pressure will certainly be exerted on Serbia to speed up the entire process regarding the European plan. There is no doubt that the pressure in this finalization will be stronger and, I'm afraid, even rougher. One thing is certain - no model of autonomy can function if communication between the Serbs and Albanians continues through the crosshairs.

And Slobodan Zecevic from the Institute for European Studies wonders what exactly Kurti is now being offered to choose, as he claims, when the CSM is not only a special case but has been planned to the last detail, all bodies, frameworks, and responsibilities have been defined.

"This now reminds me of the saying "The Devil finds work for idle hands". The CSM has an assembly, a president, a vice president, and a council, which is a kind of government, with responsibilities in the field of economy, and education. The CSM has everything exactly planned, it is known how it should look and function. After all, the Community defined in this way was the basis of Serbia's concession to integrate the police and judiciary in the north into the Kosovo system. Now, if the CSM descends to a lower level, if its competencies are taken away, the question arises as to why those concessions were made. That's the whole problem, and I have the impression that everyone is pretending to be unskilled now. I don't know if and what they are offering to Kurti, but whatever they are offering must be in accordance with the Brussels Agreement," Zecevic concluded.