Mitrovica is taking a new step towards cooperation: for the first time, a Joint Board has been formed between the south and north of the city. The goal? Joint projects that improve the lives of citizens on both sides of the Ibar River. But will this mechanism work in a complex political reality?
Mitrovica - the city with the most pronounced ethnic division in Kosovo - has established a Joint Board between the southern municipality with an Albanian majority and the northern municipality with a Serb majority.
This step has been welcomed by the country's acting Government, as well as by the two municipalities, which have described it as an opportunity to bring about joint projects that improve the lives of citizens on both sides of the Ibar River.
Based on the Law on Administrative Boundaries of Municipalities, the Board, officially established last week, consists of ten members - five for each municipality.
Elbert Krasniqi, acting Minister of Local Government Administration, has been appointed its chairman.
"The goal is to bring citizens closer together, create better conditions and cooperate between municipalities to provide better services to citizens," Krasniqi tells Radio Free Europe.
This board is not a new idea. It was initially envisaged in the Ahtisaari Package, on the basis of which Kosovo's independence was declared in 2008, and which also envisaged the establishment of two separate municipalities.
It was then included in the 2008 Law on Municipal Administrative Boundaries, but was never implemented, due to continued refusal by the leadership of North Mitrovica, which, until 2023, was under the control of the Serbian List - the largest Serb party in Kosovo.
"That's why international funds have been stopped," says Katarina Agjančić, deputy mayor of the Municipality of North Mitrovica.
"Mitrovica would be much more developed and would be compared to other developed cities in Kosovo. But, we have stagnated," she tells Radio Free Europe.
North Mitrovica, like the three other Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo - Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic - have been led for years by the Serbian List, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade, and have had difficulty obeying the decisions of the Kosovo Government.
Two years ago, after Serb citizens boycotted the local elections in these municipalities, at the request of this party, Albanian mayors took power.
What is the role of the Mitrovica Joint Board?
Acting Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, says that the Joint Board aims to facilitate coordination between the two municipalities of Mitrovica.
"It is a good opportunity for cooperation between the two municipalities," he says, adding that the incumbent Government is ready to support any joint initiative, with the aim of ensuring that projects are implemented and citizens benefit from a better life.
Last week, in a meeting with journalists, the mayor of North Mitrovica, Erden Atic, was asked whether the creation of the Board meant a step towards unifying the city into a single municipality.
He categorically denied this.
"No. As a prerequisite, you must join the Board as a municipality and not as something else, such as an administrative office or any other entity," said Atic.
However, not everyone is convinced that this mechanism can have a long life.
The Kosovo Institute for Local Governance says that the formation of the Board is a positive step, but should not be seen as a final solution.
Sadri Rrmoku from this institute tells Radio Free Europe that this body has a consultative, not decision-making role, and aims to promote coordination on practical issues between the two municipalities.
But, he adds, its functioning could be challenged if, after the local elections in October, North Mitrovica is led by a Serbian party that is unwilling to participate in the Board.
"I consider that this could be a step, at least, important for daily politics. But, I think that, at the moment the political situation in the country changes again, its functionalization will be difficult," emphasizes Rrmoku.
What happens if the Board is boycotted by a municipality?
Acting Minister of Local Government Administration, Elbert Krasniqi, asked by Radio Free Europe about this possibility, says that he does not want to speculate on hypothetical situations.
"My focus as chair and the agreement of all members is to use this time to work and create better conditions for the lives of citizens," says Krasniqi.
A similar position is shared by the deputy mayor of North Mitrovica, Katarina Agjančič.
She sees the Board as a tool at the service of citizens, not as a political instrument.
"What will happen after the (local) elections in October, I really don't know," says Agjančić.
According to the Law on Administrative Boundaries of Municipalities, the Board must be constituted within a certain time frame, after the constitution of the municipal assemblies of the respective municipalities, and develop functional cooperation based on an agreement between the municipalities.
Paragraph 2 of Article 8 of this law stipulates that, if the Board is not constituted within the stipulated time, its chairperson shall assume the functions set forth in paragraph 2 of Article 7, until the Board is fully formed.
This paragraph emphasizes that the Board aims to develop functional cooperation in areas that fall within the municipalities' own competencies, such as: local economic development, public health, urban and rural planning, and others.
However, Rrmoku emphasizes that the Chairman of the Board does not have executive powers to exercise his own powers, which fall within the sphere of competence of municipalities.
"I think that Article 8 (paragraph 2) is a problem to make functional, even if one municipality rejects (the Board). The Board does not have this competence, if one of the municipalities does not want to discuss the implementation of these own competencies with another municipality. In that case, I consider that the Board is dysfunctional," emphasizes Rrmoku.
Since taking power in 2021, the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti - now departing - has increased efforts to extend state authority to northern Kosovo.
Among other things, it has closed dozens of institutions that operated under the Serbian system, on the grounds that their activities were illegal.
Even the creation of the Mitrovica Joint Board can now be seen as part of this course for consolidating sovereignty throughout the territory of Kosovo./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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