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.

On 9 February, the Prime Ministers of Kosovo and Serbia, Isa Mustafa and Aleksandar Vučić, met in Brussels within the framework of the Brussels Dialogue Process. The meeting, organized by the European Union under the chairmanship and guidance of the new European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, was the first such meeting after a temporary interruption of some ten months due to, among others, elections in Serbia and Kosovo followed by a six-month long political stalemate in the latter country. This was the first meeting between Prime Minister Mustafa and Prime Minister Vučić. An agreement was struck and initialed between the two prime ministers on justice issues in northern Kosovo, but no information was shared on the finer details of the agreement, its scope, nor any deadlines for its implementation.

On 3 February, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa declared that the Minister for Communities and Return, Aleksandar Jablanović, was no longer part of the Government, on the eve of a new protest that was set to take place on 4 February. As a result, the protest has been suspended for the time being. Jablanović had come under heavy criticism from a large number of political parties, non-governmental organizations, media outlets and the general public after he referred to members of an organization of relatives of missing persons who had blocked the entrance to the Orthodox Church in Gjakovë/Đakovica while protesting the arrival of Serbs to attend the Christmas liturgy as “savages”. At the same time, Srpska lista’s ministers in the government have been under fire since the establishment of the new Kosovo government in December 2014 for statements which indicated that they either ignored or do not recognize the independence of Kosovo, in line with the official standpoint of the Serbian government. On 24 January, a large number of people took part in a protest called by Vetëvendosje, AAK, and “Nisma për Kosovën” demanding Jablanović’s resignation and the adoption of a new Law on Public Enterprises, which would nationalize the Trepça/Trepča mining complex. In a follow-up protest on 27 January, violent clashes broke out between protestors and Kosovo Police.

On January 24, an estimated 10,000 protesters took the street of Prishtinë/Priština, in one of the largest demonstrations organized in Kosovo in recent times, demanding that Prime Minister Isa Mustafa dismisses Minister Aleksandar Jablanović over his controversial statements and that the Government of Kosovo take over the ownership over Trepça, Kosovo’s large and economically central mining complex. The protests were called by Vetëvendosje and the NGO “Thirrjet e Nënave” (Mothers’ Calls).

The new Kosovo coalition government brings together the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), the two biggest parties from the Albanian side, with Srpska lista, the absolute winner of the elections among the Serb electorate in Kosovo, and backed by the Serbian government. As such, this government has the required political weight to address many large and complex issues that lie ahead. However, a steady stream of statements from the representatives of Srpska lista in the Kosovo Government, which either question or directly ignore the existence of the Republic of Kosovo, has jeopardised the previously established modus vivendi between the Albanian majority and Serb ministers in Kosovo governments. Presently, this government lacks coherence and political consensus to overcome political divergences within its ranks.

On 10 January, a peaceful protest demanding that Prime Minister Mustafa relieve Minister Jablanović of his duties was held in Gjakovë/Đakovica. The protest, called by Vetëvendosje and the NGO Mothers’ Call and attended by a few hundred citizens, was held after controversial statements made by Kosovo Government Minister Aleksandar Jablanović, which led to a series of furious reactions by opposition parties and the Ombudsperson of Kosovo.