Mijacic: It is realistic that the Constitution of Kosovo is changed in such a way that it recognizes the competences of the CSM

Coordinator of the Working Group of the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU) for Chapter 35, Dragisa Mijacic, assessed that the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities (CSM) should be a functional institution, which has clearly defined powers of action that should be guaranteed by the Kosovo Constitution, Nova reports.

"In other words, it is realistic to expect a change in the Constitution of Kosovo in such a way that it will recognize the CSM and the competences that body will have, without that no agreement will make sense," Mijacic told Blic.

According to him, the idea of CSM is to "legalize" the Serbian institutions present in Kosovo, from hospitals and health centers, through primary and secondary schools, to centers for social protection and employment services.

"Also, it is necessary to define some existing competences of local self-governments. The existing Constitution of Kosovo and Ahtisaari's plan give the possibility of the action of those institutions, but it has never been fully defined. It has never been implemented," Mijacic said.

Mijacic assessed that this issue should be resolved by the formation of the CSM, stressing that this would mean that the CSM has "executive" powers.

He also emphasized that the CSM "cannot be like Republic of Srpska" because, as he stated, there is a huge difference between the political systems and the constitutional-legal order in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo.

"So comparison of CSM with Republic of Srpska is unfounded, and can often be seen as malicious. CSM cannot be a non-governmental organization (NGO) either, because no matter how it is founded, it will perform functions that are part of the realization of public policies. So it is about a 'government organization', and not an NGO at all," Mijacic said.