Will the Kosovo institutions return the Serbs who resigned?

The calls of the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, for the reintegration of the Serbs in the north of Kosovo, were welcomed by the European Union as a positive move, but were not commented at all by the prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti.

Despite the repeated questions of Radio Free Europe, the officials of his Government did not indicate whether they will accept the return of the Serbs to the institutions of Kosovo. The Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo, Glauk Konjufca, who comes from Kurti's party, told reporters that such an action would be unconstitutional.

The member of Kurti's cabinet, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Donika Gërvalla, said that Vucic, with his demands, intends to continue the "instrumentalization of the Serbs" of Kosovo. According to legal experts, the return of Serbs to the courts and prosecutors can be done, but not those in the police.

Hundreds of members of the Serbian community in the north resigned from Kosovo institutions, including municipalities, police, courts and the prosecutor's office, in November 2022. This followed their outrage at a decision by the Government of Kosovo to replace Serbian car number plates. with Kosovo license plates.

From that time, the mayors of North Mitrovica municipalities, Zveçan, Zubin Potok and Leposaviq, were replaced by Albanian leaders, after the Serb majority community in the area boycotted the elections. In the courts, the prosecutor's office and the police, the Serbian employees did not return.

In an address on September 13 in Belgrade, the president of Serbia, Vučić, presented several demands for Kosovo - among others: the return of Serbs to the Kosovo Regional Police Directorate for the North, the return of Serbian judges and prosecutors to their functions, as well as announcing and holding "local, free and democratic elections" in the north.

Radio Free Europe asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo if the Serbian police officers who resigned can be recruited and how, but it asked that the questions be sent to the Kosovo Police. The latter briefly said in the written response that "it does not comment on the statements of any political person/entity". As for the recruitment of police cadets, he said that the competition is made public, along with the required criteria.

If there are requests for return, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPK) said it will consider them. But, according to the reply sent to REL, the KPK, until now, "has not accepted any request from the Serbian prosecutors for their return to the prosecutorial system".

Without specifying much, the Judicial Council of Kosovo told Radio Free Europe that the issue of the resignations of judges and the administration of the Serbian community, "will be examined at the moment that the KJC considers that it is the right time" and "according to the procedure of defined for such situations".

The former vice president of the Constitutional Court, Kadri Kryeziu, says for Radio Free Europe that the reintegration of Serbs into the institutions of Kosovo would be possible, but not automatically. According to him, local elections in the northern municipalities can be announced this year, but only if there is a political decision from the Government, which would be sent to the president of the country, Vjosa Osmani.

"After that, it depends on the discretion of the president. If she deems it reasonable politically and in terms of security, she can announce the elections [local in the northern municipalities]", says Kryeziu.

Regarding the possible return of Serbian policemen to their functions, he says that it cannot be done automatically, since their resignations have been approved by the relevant institution.

"Those who resign from the police cannot return. Only in cases when someone is sick, or has family problems... otherwise he can't come back," explains Kryeziu.

However, the situation is different with judges and prosecutors, according to him, since their resignations have not been formalized and the relevant institutions may consider their return. Astrit Kolaj, from the Kosovo Institute for Justice, also says that Serbian prosecutors and judges could return to their positions through a request they would make to the Kosovo Prosecutorial and Judicial Council.

"Both councils must meet and take decisions on their return," he says to Radio Free Europe.

"This would be a kind of good gesture, a kind of will, which would prove that the Republic of Kosovo is fair and equal for all its citizens", adds Kolaj.

Regarding the policemen, he also says that they cannot return automatically, but that "they have the right to compete to become part of the Kosovo Police, in case the competition is opened by this institution".

The Serbian population in the north of Kosovo - led by Serbia and its parallel structures in the country - hardly obeys the decisions of the Kosovo institutions. As a result, the area often becomes a hotbed of tensions. The integration of members of the Serbian community in the institutions of Kosovo has been part of several agreements that Kosovo and Serbia have reached in the dialogue for the normalization of relations. Commenting on Vucic's demands, Konjufca said that he is trying to preserve in Kosovo "what it no longer has".

"He is, in fact, threatening the Republic of Kosovo through his press conference, but this is a threat, which, to be honest, does not impress us much. We are not afraid, we are not worried, because in that part of the country are the institutions of Kosovo, are the security institutions, are the political institutions, are the municipalities that are functioning... It is a lost chance for citizens who have other opinions to participate in the political process and to be a co-participant in the political process. After what happened, the country took a new direction", said Konjufca.

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.

The decisions were criticized by Western allies, who described them as uncoordinated steps and dangerous for increasing tensions. The EU said Vučić's last requests are positive and called on both Pristina and Belgrade to engage constructively in the dialogue for the normalization of relations.

"We welcome the willingness expressed by President Vučić to continue engaging in the EU-facilitated dialogue," said EU spokesman Peter Stano for REL.

While the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia, Besnik Bislimi and Petar Petkovic, confirmed going to Brussels on September 17, for a possible joint meeting, a new round of talks between Kurti and Vučić does not seem on the horizon. For the last time they met on September 14, 2023./ REL