Spahiu: Whether the Joint Committee of North and South Mitrovica will function after the elections will depend on the new mayors

The municipalities of North and South Mitrovica have a lot in common and could, through cooperation, resolve many issues, as they are two municipalities of the same city, Mitrovica, the only one in Kosovo with two separate municipalities. Even Pristina does not have two municipalities, political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu told Kosovo Online, commenting on the launch of the Joint Committee of North and South Mitrovica, to which both municipalities have appointed members.

“For example, one municipality cannot build a factory near the border with another municipality because it could burden or interfere with the other municipality’s plans. So, all key development issues must be coordinated,” Spahiu explains, adding that the creation of the Joint Committee is foreseen by the Ahtisaari Plan as well as by law.

North Mitrovica currently has an Albanian mayor, and whether cooperation between the two municipalities through the Joint Committee will continue after the local elections on October 12 depends on the individuals who are elected as the new mayors, Spahiu believes.

“Whether it will function after the new elections, where a Serb will likely become mayor of the northern municipality, will largely depend on which individuals are elected, not just from which party, but who they are as people. Who will be mayor of the south, and who of the north. If they are reasonable people who want to develop their municipalities, they will cooperate. If they are individuals looking to steal as much as possible, then they probably won’t have any interest in cooperation, because each will focus on robbing their own municipality,” he says.

Asked whether the committee will address the issue of opening the main bridge over the Ibar, Spahiu says that opening the bridge poses no threat to anyone and, in his view, would benefit the northern municipality more than the southern one.

“When going from the north to the south, you reach the main road, while going from the south to the north leads to small side streets. So, opening the bridge, aside from easing traffic for both sides, would have no other significance. The bridge no longer holds the political weight it once had when there were ethnic tensions and a perceived threat to the Serbs in the north. That kind of significance is gone, and the only importance now is improving mobility. It is to be expected that new bridges will be built because they are more than necessary for a city, regardless of the fact that it is divided into two municipalities,” Spahiu emphasized.

Acting Minister of Infrastructure Liburn Aliu announced yesterday that a Memorandum for the construction of two new bridges over the Ibar River has been signed with the municipalities of North and South Mitrovica.