Kosovo court says EU-backed deal is unconstitutional

ANKARA

A Kosovo court has ruled that parts of an EU-brokered deal with Serbia are unconstitutional.

The agreement to establish an association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo contains “principles … not entirely in compliance with the respective constitutional standards,” Kosovo's Constitutional Court said on Wednesday.

The verdict was in response to a request submitted by Kosovo’s president, Atifete Jahjaga, to evaluate constitutionality of the deal.

Following the verdict, Jahjaga called upon “all institutions and political spectrum to respect the verdict of the Constitutional Court” and invited political parties “to restart political dialogue in Kosovo and to return the country back to normality”.

Hours after the verdict was announced, the director of the office for Kosovo in Serbia, Marko Duric, told Pristina-based Klan Kosova TV that for Belgrade the deal is valid and that any renegotiation would "open a Pandora’s box”.

In August, Serbian Prime Minister Alexander Vucic and Kosovan premier Isa Mustafa signed four agreements, granting Serbs in Kosovo greater local powers and some financing from Belgrade.

The agreement was strongly opposed by Kosovo opposition parties, who have blocked the normal functioning of parliament since September and held anti-government protests.

Many opposition MPs were arrested for throwing tear gas in parliament, causing the worst political crisis in the country since it declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Kosovo opposition parties – the Self-Determination Party, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and the Initiative for Kosovo – argue that this agreement will lead to what they call the ‘Bosniazation’ of Kosovo.

The parties also oppose a border agreement with Montenegro.

Kosovo is a former Serbian province populated by nearly 1.8 million people, over 90 percent of which are Kosovo Albanians.

Kosovo declared its independence on Feb. 17, 2008 and is recognized by about 110 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany and Turkey.

Serbia, Russia and China are among the countries that have not recognized the Kosovo’s independence.