In light of the recent outburst of violence in Mitrovicë/Mitrovica, ECMI Kosovo affirms its position that it is of imperative importance that all incidents are examined individually by the relevant authorities, in a speedy and transparent manner, to prevent further incidents and increase the faith of all citizens in the rule of law. As so often happens, the incidents have quickly been interpreted to be ethnically motivated, although there are no sound grounds to reach such conclusions.

Although the agreement on the formation of the Association/Community of Serb-majority Municipalities leaves plenty of room for diverging interpretations, the discussions on the competences and structure of the Association have ignored the few solid legal provisions provided in the Brussels Agreement of 19 April 2013.

The debates surrounding the establishment of the Association and the implementation of the Brussels Agreements relating to the general integration of the Serb community in Kosovo are leading to an increasingly worrisome political deadlock along fixed Albanian–Serb ethnic lines. This Political Analysis, which is the second in a series that wants to add content to the discussion about the Community, in line with ECMI Kosovo’s mission and track-record of dealing with complex ethnic issues in Kosovo over the years, warns against such a narrow Albanian–Serb understanding of Kosovo society, and critically assesses the ethnically-based understanding of the Association.

On 9 March 2015, the political representatives of the non-Serb minority communities in Kosovo evaluated the judiciary agreement, which was reached between Serbia and Kosovo in Brussels last month, as scandalous and in violation of Kosovo laws. The agreement was sent to Assembly Members last Friday, 6 March 2015, almost one month after the agreement was reached in Brussels during the night of 9–10 February. Representatives of the non-Serb minority communities in Kosovo, which include Ashkali, Bosniaks, Egyptians, Gorani, Roma and Turks, have criticised the fact that the judiciary agreement only mentions Serbs and Albanians and completely excludes other communities. They have threatened to take the case to the Constitutional Court and relevant international courts.

The Minister of Diaspora, Valon Murati, has come under fire for linking the illegal emigration from Kosovo to the “privileged” position of minorities in Kosovo. Murati’s statements were widely covered in the media and were condemned by the Consultative Council for Communities, a government body bringing together civil representatives of all non-majority communities in Kosovo.

Few of the concepts that have surfaced in the dialogue on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia have generated as many expectations as the Association/Community of Serb majority Municipalities. Almost two years after the initial agreement was reached, however, the Association remains unresolved and the stakeholders have not reached a basic consensus in their speculations and statements. Through a series of research papers, ECMI Kosovo intends to break through the ambiguities and lack of transparency surrounding the Association. This first paper examines the implementation plan and procedure that were agreed upon for the establishment of the Association and analyzes the hindrances that have stalled the implementation up until now. A detailed study of the legal framework pertaining to the Association will be the subject of further research papers.