Constitution State News

WASHINGTON—Ahead of his upcoming congressional delegation trip to the region, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday spoke at a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on assessing U.S. policy towards the Western Balkans.

On the Serbia-Kosovo normalization agreement, Murphy said: “I share the chairman's concerns about Serbia's penchant to make commitments that often aren't made good on. But I also share your sentiment, Mr. Chollet, that so far, we haven't seen a lot of progress on either side, from Serbia or from Kosovo on the commitments made in this most recent agreement. I just wanted to dig into this question of the association of Serbian municipalities a bit more, and sort of ask two specific questions. One, this has never seemed to me an outrageous ask, in part because I agree with you, Mr. Escobar. This ultimately solves a lot of problems for Kosovo. It has, I understand, corollaries in Europe. There are other instances where there are parts, regions of countries that have a certain amount of devolved power. And it is not inevitable that this becomes a Republika Sprska.”

On North Macedonia’s constitutional amendment vote and potential EU membership, Murphy said: “With respect to the question of the ASM, we're not asking Kosovo to change their constitution. But let's be clear, in other circumstances in the region, there are changes in constitutions necessary to preserve peace. One of those instances is in North Macedonia where an agreement has been reached to try to bring North Macedonia into transatlantic institutions and into the European Union that would require them to change their constitution to recognize the rights of minority groups inside the country.”

A full transcript of Murphy’s exchanged with Derek Chollet, Counselor of the Department of State:

MURPHY: “Mr. Chairman, thank you for convening this hearing. Very conveniently timed for me personally because this weekend I'll be heading to the region to most of the countries that we're discussing today, and looking forward to building on these efforts that we've been discussing today to promote stability in the region.

“I share the chairman's concerns about Serbia's penchant to make commitments that often aren't made good on. But I also share your sentiment, Mr. Chollet, that so far, we haven't seen a lot of progress on either side, from Serbia or from Kosovo on the commitments made in this most recent agreement.

“I just wanted to dig into this question of the association of Serbian municipalities a bit more, and sort of ask two specific questions. One, this has never seemed to me an outrageous ask, in part because I agree with you, Mr. Escobar. This ultimately solves a lot of problems for Kosovo. It has, I understand, corollaries in Europe. There are other instances where there are parts, regions of countries that have a certain amount of devolved power. And it is not inevitable that this becomes a Republika Sprska. Maybe talk a little bit about how this looks familiar and why this doesn't automatically turn into what has happened inside Bosnia-Herzegovina.”

CHOLLET: “Sure, thanks, Senator Murphy, and thanks in advance for taking the trip next week, which is I think it comes at a very, very important moment in this dialogue. First, just to step back on the on the ASM. As Mr. Escobar has said this is an international commitment. It was enshrined in the 2013 Brussels Agreement, so it's about 10 years now. And in our view, it comports with the Kosovo constitution and constitutional court decisions. The bottom line here is we want all citizens of Kosovo to be able to receive equal services and have their voices heard.

“The idea is for the Serbs in the north of Kosovo to be less reliant on Belgrade in its focus on education and health care and economic, local economic development, things like that. We have been very, very clear that we will not accept nor we support anything that remotely resembles a Republika Sprska. As you noted, the European Union has cited more than a dozen examples within the EU of ASM like structures in Northern Italy, in Switzerland, in Finland, where they have these minority populations, where they have some degree of local control over parts of their lives.

“Mr. Escobar and I co-wrote an op-ed on it for Kosovo, in Kosovo papers earlier this year, laying out in our mind what the ASM is and what it isn't, and that argument that we made has been embraced by the leadership of Kosovo. And they are saying they are using that as they are forming their own thinking about what an ASM might look like. What we'd like to see is their view of what an ASM might look like, and how that could be acceptable.”

MURPHY: “Let me just turn to North Macedonia for a moment. With respect to the question of the ASM, we're not asking Kosovo to change their constitution. But let's be clear, in other circumstances in the region, there are changes in constitutions necessary to preserve peace. One of those instances is in North Macedonia where an agreement has been reached to try to bring North Macedonia into transatlantic institutions and into the European Union that would require them to change their constitution to recognize the rights of minority groups inside the country.

“Tell me a little bit about what the tangible benefits are that North Macedonia would receive by joining the EU. Why is it really important for them to move forward to sort of settle their differences with Bulgaria in order to be able to get into the European Union?”

CHOLLET: “Well, North Macedonia and again, I'm glad you're going to be able to stop there next week. We hosted here the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of North Macedonia just a few weeks ago, I know that they were able to meet with many of you. They're a terrific partner. They're a NATO ally. They're a regional leader. Mr. Escobar participated in EU led talks in Ohrid, which is a city in North Macedonia on Kosovo and Serbia.

“It's self-evident for a small country like North Macedonia with so much to offer the benefits that would be derived from them joining the European Union. Now they've got to make some tough decisions in terms of constitutional changes, which they're being asked to make. They're willing to make those changes, but the politics are tough and what they need to hear from all of us is our support for them making these changes, which seem minor but are politically quite difficult and that will help unlock the next phase of their EU accession process.”

Original source can be found here