The formation of the Community/Association of Serb municipalities (ZSO) has not started, even nearly nine months after the agreement. The elections and different interpretations of the Brussels agreement are the reasons for this delay. The international community, these days, intensively urges both Belgrade and Pristina to continue with the implementation, because the continuation of European integration will depend on it.
“A great success has been achieved, the ZSO will have concrete executive power” -this was said by the Serbian delegation after signing the agreement in Brussels. Nine months later, the ZSO has not even a statute, and from Pristina comes an unexpected message from an European Parliament official.
“The Community of Serb municipalities will be formed soon, but will have no executive powers, it will be an institution for the provision of services to citizens,” said European Parliament rapporteur for Kosovo, Ulrike Lunacek.
Lunacek added that the Brussels agreement must be respected when writing the Statute of the ZSO, but also the decision of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo, which gave the permission for the establishment of the ZSO; the Court also noted that parts of the agreement are not in accordance with Kosovo’s Constitution.
“Serbia is not bound by the decisions of Pristina’s Constitutional Court, nor is it interested. Belgrade does not accept the unilateral changing of agreements already reached. Also, we respect everyone’s role in this process, but we will not accept that anyone would rewrite what was clearly agreed in Brussels,” the Office for KiM announced.
“Move from words to deeds”, says the international community. The ambassadors of almost all UN member states have urged at the Security Council a faster implementation of the what was agreed in Brussels.
“Pristina must immediately apply the agreement on the ZSO and it will be a litmus test of its willingness to meet its obligations, otherwise we will see a deterioration of the situation in Kosovo and around it,” said Vladimir Safronkov, Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia in the UN Security Council.
“Pristina and Belgrade must, without delay, implement the Brussels agreements, including the one about the ZSO and telecommunications. Negotiation without implementation does not lead anywhere,” said David Pressman, the US Deputy Ambassador to the UN.
