Osmani: The EU's Draft Statute for the CSM Contradicts the Constitution of Kosovo

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, stated that her meeting with the EU envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Peter Sorensen, was primarily informative regarding Kosovo's stance. She mentioned that she had thoroughly presented objections to the draft statute proposed by the EU for the Community of Serb-Majority Municipalities (CSM), which, according to her, contradicts the Constitution of Kosovo, as reported by Gazeta Express.

"There was more informing about our positions than receiving positions from his side, and that is completely normal since this is the beginning of his mandate," Osmani said, adding that these discussions would continue. 

She emphasized that the current draft statute for the formation of the CSM does not pass the Constitutional Court’s test, as it is not in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo.

"We will continue discussing the draft statute proposed by the EU, which I personally believe is not in line with the Constitution of Kosovo, nor with the values and norms of the EU, nor with the standards of the Council of Europe. It is also not in accordance with the Constitutional Court's 2015 ruling. A draft that contradicts all three of these aspects cannot be implemented, nor do I believe it could pass any test in the Constitutional Court, which has already set standards for many issues contained in the draft statute, such as the executive competencies of the Association and many other matters. So, it was primarily an informative meeting about our positions, not just on the draft statute, but on the dialogue process as a whole," said the Kosovo president.

Osmani stated that the principle of equality between the parties had not been upheld in the dialogue process so far.

"It has been a unilateral process that has harmed the credibility of the process itself. Now, with the new EU leadership, we hope that this balance and equality will be restored at the table, as that would help the credibility of the process itself, and we hope for more positive results," Osmani concluded.