Sljuka: The international community views the package of measures as a unilateral decision by Serbia

Aleksandar Sljuka, a member of the NGO "New Social Initiative," says that the international community sees the Serbian government’s decision to adopt a package of measures for Kosovo as a unilateral move that will deepen the crisis in the dialogue.

“There are two different perspectives here: one from the Serbian side and another from the Pristina side and international actors. While the Serbian side has de facto accepted Kosovo’s authority on the ground, it has not accepted it de jure. Serbia still claims rights over Kosovo’s territory and maintains it has jurisdiction there. Therefore, from Serbia’s perspective, these laws are completely lawful and do not violate any agreements. However, for Pristina and the international community, this will be viewed as a breach of agreements,” Sljuka explained.

As he noted, Germany, the US, and Brussels did not specify which agreements were allegedly violated, but it can be assumed they are referring to the proposed law on the organization and jurisdiction of judicial authorities to prosecute crimes committed on Kosovo's territory.

“They haven’t specified which agreements were violated exactly, but in the context of the judicial authority law, we can say this relates to the Brussels Agreement and agreements concerning the integration of the judiciary, as we know that Serbia has de facto agreed to integrate the judiciary. If we consider that, we could say that such a remark or message is appropriate,” Sljuka added.

On the matter of social assistance for Serbs in Kosovo, Sljuka emphasizes that there is no agreement in place that could be considered violated.

“When looking at the proposed law designating Kosovo as a territory of special social protection, the situation is slightly different. We never had a specific agreement regarding this, and we know that certain institutions mentioned in this proposed law still operate in Kosovo. The international community opposes any unilateral abolition of these institutions, expecting such steps to be taken only when the CSM is established,” he explained.

According to him, international actors do not support a unilateral abolition of Serbian institutions in Kosovo but are also against their strengthening.

“We can view this in the context of the dialogue, where we see a set of laws perceived as a unilateral move by Belgrade that deepens the crisis in the dialogue. The dialogue formally exists, and the international community believes that such actions will further prevent substantial dialogue and push normalization further away. For this reason, they urge Serbia to avoid such moves,” Sljuka concluded.