| First Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalisation of Relations | |
|---|---|
| Type | Treaty |
| Context | Normalization ofKosovo–Serbia relations |
| Signed | 19 April 2013 (2013-04-19) |
| Location | Brussels,Belgium |
| Mediators | |
| Signatories |
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| Parties | |
TheFirst Agreement of Principles Governing the Normalisation of Relations, informally known as theBrussels Agreement (Serbian:Бриселски споразум /Briselski sporazum,Albanian:Marrëveshja e Brukselit), is an agreement to normalize relations between the governments ofSerbia andKosovo.[1] The agreement, negotiated and concluded inBrussels under the auspices of theEuropean Union, was signed on 19 April 2013.[2] Negotiations were led by SerbianPrime MinisterIvica Dačić and KosovoPrime MinisterHashim Thaçi, mediated byEU High RepresentativeCatherine Ashton. The government of Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as asovereign state, but began normalising relations with the government of Kosovo as a result of the agreement.[3] InBelgrade, the agreement was criticized by protestors as aconvalidation ofKosovo independence.[4]
Following theKosovo War and theNATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999, Kosovo (as part ofSerbia and theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia) was placed underUnited Nations administration underUNSC Resolution 1244. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008, which has beenrecognised by 108 countries. However, Serbia maintains that Kosovo continues to be part of its territory.[5] European Union-mediated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia began in March 2011.[6] Serbia and Kosovo were urged to continue talks in Brussels, but Serbia was not obliged to recognize Kosovo during the process.[7]
Ten rounds of talks were held at theEuropean External Action Service office in Brussels. EU High RepresentativeCatherine Ashton chaired the talks for two years, followed byFederica Mogherini. Normalisation of relations with neighbouring states is a key precondition for states wishing to join the EU; the Brussels Agreement brought Serbia close to EU accession talks and Kosovo to initializing aStabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). The SAA was signed by HR Mogherini and Kosovar Prime MinisterIsa Mustafa in October 2015.
United States diplomats have supported the EU-led dialogue. U.S.Secretary of StateHillary Clinton invited Baroness Ashton to travel in the Balkans, and they made joint visits toBelgrade,Pristina, andSarajevo in October 2012.
TheEuropean Commission advised beginning an SAA with Kosovo after the agreement was concluded,[8] andaccession negotiations began with Serbia. The agreement was supported by the European Union,NATO, theOSCE, and the United Nations.[9]
The two-page agreement has 15 paragraphs. Paragraphs 1–6 concern the establishment, scope, and functions of the plannedCommunity of Serb Municipalities. Paragraphs 7–9 concern police and security, specifying one police force for all of Kosovo (including the north) known as theKosovo Police. Paragraph 11 stipulates that municipal elections shall be held throughout Kosovo under Kosovo law. Paragraph 12 provides for the creation of an implementation plan and specifies a date (now past) by which the plan would be concluded. Paragraph 13 undertakes to intensify discussions on energy and telecommunications. According to Paragraph 14, "Neither side will block, or encourage others to block, the other side's progress in their respective EU paths." Paragraph 15 envisages the establishment of an implementation committee with EU facilitation.
The document agrees on the integration of Serb-majority municipalities inNorth Kosovo into the Kosovar legal system, with two guarantees:
After the agreement was signed, meetings have been held regularly to implement its provisions. A judicial agreement was reached in February 2015, followed by agreements on energy and telecommunications operators. On 25 August of that year, an agreement was concluded to establish the Association of Serbian Communities.
Concerns existed about how the2013 local-government elections in Kosovo would be administered, with the government of Serbia objecting to any mention of "the state of Kosovo" on ballot papers;[12] however, the Serbian government agreed that it should encourage Serbs in northern Kosovo to participate in the local elections.[13] That October, arrangements were made for Serbian officials to visit North Kosovo.[14] It was agreed that electoral bodies in Kosovo would include Kosovo Serb representatives,[15] and theinternational dialing code+383 would be assigned to Kosovo.[16] After some delay,[17] the newgeographic phone code was implemented in December 2016.[18]
ScholarsSmilja Avramov andElena Guskova maintain that the agreement violates theConstitution of Serbia and theUnited Nations Charter, and is an indirect recognition of Kosovar independence.[19] TheAssembly of Kosovo has ratified the agreement, incorporated it into law, and treats it as an "international agreement."[20]
TheNational Assembly of Serbia has not treated the agreement as international and has not ratified it, the Serbian procedure for approving an international agreement;[21] however, it has accepted the government report about the "hitherto process of political and technical dialogue with the temporary institutions in Pristina with the mediation of EU, including the process of implementation of the achieved agreements."[22] The constitutional court in Belgrade did not answer a question about the constitutionality of the agreement, saying in December 2014 that the issue was a political question and not a legal one.[23]
Serbian presidentAleksandar Vučić said in 2018 that the agreement is a difficult compromise for Serbia, which Vučić said had met all of its obligations.[24]
On 24 March 2022, SerbianPresidentAleksandar Vučić claimed that the Brussels Agreement "no longer exists", citing the suspension of court president ofMitrovicaLjiljana Stevanović by theKosovo Judicial Council and alleged plans to remove all Serb commanders from the Kosovo police force as the primary reason.[25][26]Prime MinisterAna Brnabić made similar remarks and claimed that basic human rights of the Serb community in Kosovo were not respected.[27]
Српски експерт за међународно право Смиља Аврамов оцијенила је да споразум између Београда и Приштине представља индиректно признање самопроглашеног Косова и поручила да је њиме погажена Повеља УН која Србији гарантује територијални интегритет....Јелена Гускова: Споразум Београда и Приштине је уговор о признању независности Косова
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