REL: Serbian List seeks compromise, while Pristina continues to close Serbian institutions

While the Serbian List calls on the QUINT countries – the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France – to get involved in finding a compromise solution for the functioning of the Ibar Water Supply Company, the Kosovo authorities are continuing to close down institutions that operate under the Serbian system.

On May 16, the National Employment Service building in North Mitrovica was taken under control. In the previous days, the premises of the sports gym, the city museum, the Institute for Culture, Youth, Sports and Specialized Services, as well as the Kosovski Bozhur Cultural-Artistic Association were also closed.

The leader of the Serbian List, Zlatan Ellek, declared at an extraordinary conference on May 14 that his party "is always for a compromise solution" that should be sought through talks and dialogue.

"Unfortunately, we have no one to talk to, because dialogue with the authorities in Pristina does not exist – they refuse it," said the leader of the largest Kosovo Serb party, which is supported by Belgrade.

This is the first time that the Serbian List has sought a compromise on the closure of Serbian institutions, which Kosovo authorities consider parallel and illegal, and which have begun to close at the beginning of 2024.

The Kosovo government did not respond to Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL)'s question about whether there is currently a willingness for dialogue on the further functioning of institutions funded by Belgrade.

The Serbian List delegation on May 15, in a meeting with representatives of the US Embassy in Pristina, expressed concern about the new wave of closures of Serbian institutions by the Kosovo authorities.

According to the announcement by this party, they presented "concrete proposals for overcoming the current situation," which include, among other things, the immediate return of all employees to their jobs at the Serbian company Ujësjellësi Ibër.

REL reached out to the Serbian List for clarification on the nature of these compromise proposals and whether they also include other closed institutions, but did not receive a response.

Meanwhile, the director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovic, held a meeting with the ambassadors of the QUINT countries in Belgrade, where he emphasized that "the priority topic in the dialogue with Pristina should be de-escalation" and that "discussions should begin on this."

He called on the European Union and the QUINT countries to engage "to stop Albin Kurti's violence against Serbs and Serbian institutions."

Pristina-based political scientist Dritëro Arifi told Radio Free Europe that the Serbian List's request for compromise is overdue, and that this party should have addressed it earlier, before launching a boycott of Kosovo institutions in 2022.

He added that the Serbian List has lost credibility after boycotting local elections in northern Kosovo in 2023 and 2024, and that the reality on the ground has changed.

"This issue [of closing Serbian institutions] is more related to the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue and the implementation of the Brussels agreement. But, ultimately, without a final agreement and mutual recognition, there will be no real dialogue in this sense," Arifi said.

Meanwhile, Belgrade-based political scientist Ognjen Gogić assessed that it is not in the interest of the Kosovo authorities to interrupt the services of municipal enterprises, and believes that a solution will be found for their functioning.

However, according to him, this will not be possible for other Serbian institutions that exist in parallel with those of Kosovo, such as municipalities, social work centers, and others.

"It depends on whether those institutions are necessary for Kosovo. For those that are necessary, it is inevitable to find a solution," Gogić said.

Meanwhile, the public municipal enterprise in Shtërpcë – a Serb-majority municipality in southern Kosovo – has resumed operations within the Kosovo system after being closed in early May.

Members of sports clubs that used the closed gym space protested on Friday in North Mitrovica, demanding that it be returned to them so they can continue their activities. Several members of the Serbian List also participated in the protest.

The young people, most of whom were accompanied by their parents, said that they were "being denied the right to practice sports and activities."

The Municipality of North Mitrovica said that the gym is functional and that those interested in using it should contact the persons responsible for setting the schedules.

However, the European Union reacted on May 16, assessing that the actions of the Kosovo authorities risk increasing tensions on the ground and negatively impacting the daily lives of local communities and Kosovo's international image.

The EU also called on Kosovo and Serbia to implement the Agreement on the Roadmap to Normalization of Relations, accepted by both sides in 2023, and to immediately begin implementing without delay or conditions all agreements reached.

"This includes the creation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. Normalization of relations is an essential condition for the European path of both sides," the reaction states.

This Association was intended to regulate, among other things, the functioning of Serbian institutions, payments and financing from the Serbian budget.

The French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, reiterated on May 15 that the issue of the closure of Serbian institutions should be addressed within the framework of the dialogue for the normalization of relations – which, according to the authorities in Pristina, is unacceptable, as they emphasize that they are establishing order, law and the rule of law.

Belgrade, on the other hand, refuses to close its institutions in Kosovo. It has relocated some of them to border towns within Serbian territory, while continuing to pay monthly salaries to employees.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Kosovo also reacted, warning that the closure of Serbian institutions without an institutional transition, without sustainable alternatives and without the involvement of the local community "seriously jeopardizes the access of non-majority communities to basic services."/ REL