Councillors in four northern municipalities vote to withdraw from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities

Councillors in the local assemblies of four municipalities in northern Kosovo—North Mitrovica, Zvecan, Leposavic, and Zubin Potok—voted today to withdraw from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities (AKM).

In accordance with procedure, every decision adopted by a local assembly must also be reviewed by the Ministry of Local Government Administration.

The four northern municipalities with a Serb-majority population joined the Association of Kosovo Municipalities in 2023, after decisions to that effect were taken by predominantly Albanian councillors elected in elections boycotted by the Serb community.

The Mayor of North Mitrovica, Milan Radojevic, who assumed office earlier this month, stated today that one of the reasons for withdrawing from the Association is that accession to the AKM was a political decision of a single party, rather than the will of the citizens.

“The previous assembly adopted the decision to join the AKM without a public debate and without the consent of the citizens. In the future, citizens will decide whether they wish to be members of any association,” Radojevic said.

Zvecan Mayor Dragiša Milovic stated that joining the Association was a political decision with which the newly elected municipal leadership and its citizens do not agree, and that the Association has brought no tangible benefits to the residents of Zvecan.

“As you know, within the framework of the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue in Brussels in 2013, with the support of the European Union, an agreement was reached, among other things, on the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the Pristina parliament verified that agreement by a two-thirds majority, we have been waiting for 13 years for the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities or an association of municipalities with a Serb majority. In the meantime, the previous leadership—this was, in my view, a political decision—decided that the Municipality of Zvecan should join the Association of Kosovo Municipalities, without the knowledge or consent of the majority of our citizens. Over these years, there has been no improvement for our citizens; instead, we see how devastated the municipality is and how far it lags behind in infrastructure development. One of the reasons is that we were financially obliged to support this Association, while our municipal budget is empty,” Milovic said.

Councillors in Leposavic also decided on the withdrawal of the Municipality of Leposavic from the Association of Kosovo Municipalities. The decision was adopted by a majority vote, with 12 councillors voting in favor, one against, and one abstention.

The decision to withdraw from the AKM in the Zubin Potok Municipal Assembly was adopted with 13 votes in favor and one abstention out of 14 councillors present.

Meanwhile, on 16 December, the Council of the European Union adopted conclusions on Kosovo, emphasizing the need to establish the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (CSM) and to fully implement all agreements reached in the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue, including the 2023 Agreement.

“It is expected that Kosovo fully implements all agreements reached in the Belgrade–Pristina dialogue, including the establishment of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, and that it begins fulfilling its obligations under the 2023 Agreement by launching a process leading to concrete arrangements and guarantees ‘for an appropriate level of self-management for the Serb community in Kosovo,’ in accordance with Article 7,” the report states.

It should be recalled that the Municipality of North Mitrovica was unanimously admitted to the Association of Kosovo Municipalities on 22 August 2023. The procedure for membership was initiated by the then Albanian mayor of North Mitrovica, Erden Atic of the Self-Determination Movement, who was elected in elections boycotted by the Serb community.

The Municipal Assembly of Zvecan voted to join the Association of Kosovo Municipalities on 15 September 2023.

The Municipality of Leposavic also acceded to the AKM in September 2023, following the constitution of the previous Municipal Assembly, while the Municipal Assembly of Zubin Potok likewise voted to join the Association in 2023.