Germany calls on Serbia to reconsider the draft laws on Kosovo

The Foreign Ministry of Germany has called on Serbia on Friday to reconsider the newly approved draft laws on judicial jurisdiction in Kosovo and to declare Kosovo a "special social protection area".

In an article in X, Germany joined the position of the United States and the European Union that the Government of Serbia has violated the obligations from the Brussels dialogue by approving these draft laws, which are expected to be voted on in the Parliament.

"We call on Serbia and Kosovo to implement the Ohrid agreement without any delay, including the Association of Serb-majority municipalities", said the German Ministry.

The Government of Serbia announced at the beginning of the week that it approved a draft law on, as it called, the organization and competence of the Serbian judicial authorities in the prosecution of criminal offenses committed on the territory of Kosovo, as well as another draft law on the declaration of Kosovo as " area of ​​special social protection".

These bills have been criticized by the United States and the European Union during the week, which unanimously said that they clearly violate Serbia's obligations from the dialogue with Kosovo in Brussels.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, accused Serbia of violating agreements and violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo with these draft laws.

But the head of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petkovic, justified the draft laws, saying that they come as a response to, as he put it, "the oppression of the Serbian people by the regime in Pristina and the lack of visible actions by the mission of EU, EULEX".

Kosovo and Serbia have reached an agreement on the judiciary in 2015 and 2017 and have agreed on its implementation and the integration of Kosovo Serbs in the justice institutions in Kosovo.

However, hundreds of members of the Serbian community in the north resigned from the institutions of Kosovo, including the municipalities, the police, the courts and the prosecutor's office, in November 2022, as a sign of dissatisfaction with some decisions of the Government of Kosovo.

During this year, the Government of Kosovo took several steps - such as removing the Serbian dinar from use and closing Serbian parallel structures - in an effort to extend its authority as much as possible in the north.

This prompted official Belgrade to announce in September that it would establish a special prosecutor's office for the territory of Kosovo, as a measure to protect the "vital national interests of the Serbian people" in Kosovo.

Meanwhile, the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, presented some measures for Kosovo earlier in the week, saying that the special prosecutor's office and special judicial chambers will "pursue all those who participate in the persecution of the Serbian population" in Kosovo.

The draft law compiled by the Serbian Government foresees trials for all the crimes foreseen by the Criminal Code of this country, which were committed after the declaration of Kosovo's independence in February 2008.