New round of talks within Belgrade-Pristina dialogue; Vučić in 2013 - same as Dayton

New round of talks within Belgrade-Pristina dialogue; Vučić in 2013 - same as Dayton

At the beginning of 2013, a proposal for a Community of Serbian municipalities was created, with the signing of the Brussels Agreement between Belgrade and Pristina.

It is planned that CSM will be a self-governing association of municipalities with a majority Serbian population in the territory of the southern province of Kosovo and Metoija.

In accordance with the competences given by the European Charter on Local Self-Government and the law of Kosovo, municipalities would have the right to cooperate in the exercise of their powers through the association. They would have full insight into the areas of economic development, education, health, urban and rural planning.

The community would include these municipalities: North Kosovska Mitrovica, Zubin Potok, Leposavić, Zvečan, Štrpce, Klokot-Vrbovac, Gračanica, Novo Brdo, Ranilug and Parteš.

The CSM would have ten municipalities and would be territorially larger in the south than in the north (about 20% of the territory, while Serbs have a maximum of 6%).

Eight years of waiting

The CSM was expected to be officially established as early as 2015, but this was postponed indefinitely due to conflicts over the scope of its powers.

In accordance with the Brussels Agreement, it is planned to establish a community of Serbian municipalities with headquarters in North Kosovska Mitrovica.

Unlike the former Community, it does not have any legislative power, having only "full supervisory power in the areas of economic development, education, health, urban and rural planning" in accordance with the European Charter on Local Self-Government and Kosovo law.

This agreement was also praised by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who said that it guarantees broad powers to municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo.

Stagnation and Albanian obstruction of the agreement

In 2015, the Albanians from Kosovo and Metohija submitted a proposal that the so-called Kosovo becomes a member of UNESCO, however, the request was rejected due to the lack of the required 2/3 votes in the General Conference of UNESCO.

A day later, on November 10, 2015, the Government of the so-called Kosovo has frozen the previously signed Agreement on the establishment of a Community of Serbian Municipalities. In December 2015, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo declared parts of the 2013 agreement unconstitutional.

Since then, the implementation of the Agreement has been put on hold and the so-called Kosovo fell into a political crisis with constant clashes between the Albanian parties in the government and the opposition, with the former supporting the Agreement and the latter criticizing it, saying that the Serbs would be "privileged" if the Agreement was implemented.

Vučić from the first day in favor of CSM

Ever since the signing of the Brussels Agreement in 2013, the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has advocated for the formation of a Community of Serbian Municipalities at any cost.

At every opportunity, Vučić emphasized and brought up the topic of the formation of the CSM, because it aimed to improve the life of Serbs living in harsh conditions in enclaves with a Serbian majority.

Goranci for CSM

The Gorani or Goranci are a Slavic Muslim ethnic group inhabiting the Gora region—the triangle between Kosovo, Albania, and North Macedonia. They have declared that they want Gora (a former municipality with a Gorani majority) to join the Community of Serbian Municipalities.

On November 3, 2013, 70% of Gorani voted to establish the municipality of Gora as part of the Community of Serbian Municipalities, according to Goran political leader Safet Kushi.