Belgium’s constitutional model cannot be copied in other countries but some of its elements may be interesting to consider in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Koen Adam, Belgium’s Ambassador to Serbia, told the Beta agency in an interview.
Asked about the German-speaking community in eastern Belgium and the media speculation that the EU could propose the model as a solution for the Union of the Serb Municipalities in Kosovo, the ambassador said his country has a very specific constitutional system, parts or procedures of which “might serve as inspiration for problems elsewhere in the world.”
“During my career, I explained to all my interlocutors that Belgium is a country that exports many things, but not its constitutional model. We h ve a rather sophisticated model of constitutional engineering, designed to offer solutions to Belgium’s problems. It is not something you can copy to another situation,” the ambassador said.
Belgium supports the efforts of the EU and its special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák, “to bring both sides closer to the set goal, a legally binding comprehensive agreement that would lead to the normalisation of relations,” he added.
“I will not intentionally answer your question whether the Belgian model is applicable to Kosovo, it is up to Mr Lajčák and all partners in the dialogue to decide, but I can say that some elements may be interesting to consider”, the ambassador also said.
Serbia Demands Association of Municipalities and Elections in Kosovo in Meetings with EU, US Envoys
The association is a very controversial issue in Kosovo. Two agreements for its establishment were signed in 2013 and 2015 between Kosovo and Serbia under the EU’s facilitation. However, in 2015 the Constitutional Court deemed them in breach of the constitution.
The Kosovo government says they will stick to the court ruling and not allow the formation of an association with executive powers that would rival the central government.
Similarly, they say they won’t allow Serbia’s April 2022 elections to take place in their country. Ethnic Albanians living in Serbia do not vote within Serbia during the Kosovo elections.
However, these two stipulations remain Serbia’s conditions to return to the dialogue table with Kosovo.
After meeting with Lajcak and Escobar, Speaker of Parliament Ivica Dacic echoed Vucic’s vows, reiterating in a TV interview that Serbia will never recognize Kosovo, “directly or indirectly.”
https://exit.al/en/2022/02/04/comment-the-hypocrisy-of-serb-municipality-associations-while-the-presevo-valley-is-ethnically-cleansed/
