The American ambassador, Jeff Hovenier, declared that Kosovo should move forward with sending the draft statute for the Association.

In an interview for RTK, Hovenier said that taking this important step will help Kosovo to be a member of the EU, NATO and the Council of Europe.

” I want the government to understand two key points. First, Kosovo has many friends and those friends want to see Kosovo in organizations like the Council of Europe, but second, those friends want to see the country taking additional actions so that they are convinced of the country’s commitment to human rights. minorities and human rights. One of the most obvious ways to do this, which we have all recommended, is to take this important step of sending this EU draft of the Association of Serbian-Majority Municipalities to the Constitutional Court. It seems to us that this is an important thing for Kosovo, without referring to the Council of Europe, because it will help to ensure proper protection for the Serbian ethnic community in Kosovo, but it also unlocks and opens this journey in which we want to see Kosovo “, said the ambassador.

Hovenier emphasized that he does not agree that there should be a Serbian Republic in Kosovo and he does not agree that the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority has executive authority.

“We all said that this draft meets the requirements. Kosovo has committed since 2013 to create this Association. This draft will fulfill the requirements and something else, we strongly believe that it has been done in a way that respects the concerns identified by the government of Kosovo. We agree that there should not be a Serbian Republic in Kosovo. We agree that the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority should not have executive authority; should not create a new layer of government; it should not hinder the good functioning of the Kosovar state and it should be in full compliance with the current constitution of Kosovo”, declared Hovenier.

The latter called on Serbia to fulfill its obligations.

“We expect Serbia to fulfill all its obligations within the dialogue, we expect Kosovo to fulfill all its obligations as well. And according to our point of view, for Kosovo this urgently includes moving forward with the Association, sending the draft statute to the Constitutional Court for constitutional evaluation”, the ambassador emphasized.

/k.s/