Hoxha: Kurti is trying to "repackage" the CSM to be in line with the Constitution

Political analyst Leart Hoxha says that the "big five" have done their part with their visit to Pristina and Belgrade on October 21st and that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is now trying to give the Community of Serb Municipalities a new "packaging" that will be in line with the Kosovo Constitution and, as such, will not be a hindrance to other political parties in Kosovo.

"It has to be made clear that if envoys come and if they guarantee a meeting with their bosses, which means with Scholz, Macron, and Meloni, it means that both Vucic and Kurti have agreed to what the envoys have said; otherwise, envoys would not have scheduled a meeting with their bosses. This is the alphabet of diplomacy, so if Vucic and Kurti continue to claim that they are still discussing it or have not agreed, I definitely think that is not true," Hoxha said for Kosovo Online.

He points out that Kurti is now trying to give the CSM a "new packaging."

"Kurti will insist a lot on packaging this and presenting it as a new way of implementing and interpreting Article 7 of the Brussels Agreement, which implies self-governance of the Serbian community, but, in principle, it has to be some mechanism. If it won't be called the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, it will be called something else, but he (Kurti) has to make sure that it complies with the Kosovo Constitution. If the envoys have presented a draft, I think they have made sure it complies with the Kosovo Constitution, and if it does, no one on the Kosovo side will have any valid reason to reject it," Hoxha believes.

The opposition will try to use the situation for an internal political struggle against Kurti, he says.

"Political parties will not reject something they agreed to when they were in power; if it complies with the Constitution, it will proceed. But, since Kurti has consistently opposed it (the CSM), it is legitimate to expect that they will try to use it in some internal political fight against him," Hoxha says.

Asked whether the envoys have brought a new model for the CSM compared to existing ones in European practice, Hoxha expresses doubt.

"I doubt that there can be anything new because someone would have to be extremely creative to come up with something new. Legal experts with whom I have had the opportunity to consult claim that none of those models goes beyond the Kosovo Constitution, which means that the Kosovo Constitution anticipates most of it, but the problem is that neither the Kosovo Government nor the Serbian community here have been able nor willing to use 100 percent of what the Kosovo Constitution offers or the possibilities it provides. I think it is time to talk about it now and to revise it," Hoxha points out.

He emphasizes that "political maneuvers" and changing formulations are currently being worked on depending on what each party wants to hear.

"If Kurti is bothered by the word 'Community,' he will use another word. If the opposition in Kosovo demands that it be within the Kosovo Constitution, it will be. If Vucic and the Serbian community here want a formulation that allows them to justify themselves to their voter base, I think that will also happen. But everyone is aware that September 24 cannot be repeated; diplomatic pressure is going towards preventing terrorist acts, terrorist actions, incursions, the annexation of paramilitary formations, and the modus operandi, and to prevent this from happening again, more work is being done to find a solution, whatever it is called," Hoxha concluded.