Kosovo Must Deliver on Municipal Association if it wants Normalisation

In September 2021, barricades were erected in northern Kosovo after the government in Pristina announced various measures related to the seemingly banal topic of vehicle license plates issued by Serbia.

After several weeks, a compromise was reached that returned the issue to the negotiating table. Meanwhile locals were left to stick on and scrape-off stickers covering up national symbols deemed unacceptable to the other side.

Less than a year later, new instructions from Pristina that would affect the freedom of movement of Kosovo Serbs - mirroring those put in place by Serbia towards Kosovars - sparked new temporary obstructions on roads in mainly Serbian north Kosovo.

This time, however, the standoff was portrayed in various quarters through the prism of Russia's aggression against Ukraine, and the spectre of war was spoken about, more often than not either naively or manipulatively. Opportunists keen to sow seeds of discontent and disinformation swarmed social media.

That the on-the-ground presence of NATO forces, and many more just an air drop away, limits the possibility of confrontation mattered little to those intent on talking up the prospect of a new "front" for Russian-inspired aggression.

EU envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (L) and Kosovo PM Albin Kurti (R) prior to their second meeting in Brussels on July 19, 2021. Photo edited by BIRN: Official Twitter Account of Miroslav Lajcak

One of the main pillars of this Agreement was the establishment of an Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, which would have "full overview of the areas of economic development, education, health, urban and rural planning".

Whilst many other...

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