UNMIK/PR/850
1. I shall invite the leaders of the major Kosovo political parties and coalitions which participate in all-inclusive municipal elections to a Decentralisation Meeting on 1 November in Gnjilane/Gjilan. At this meeting I will present my concept of decentralisation which will bring government closer to the people in accordance with the Seven Point Plan and the Constitutional Framework. My concept includes the following elements:
Municipal units may be established for sizeable non-majority communities. These municipal units will have a local council, administrative organs and a budget;
Municipal units may be made up of one or more villages, settlements and urban quarters within a municipality;
Municipal units will be established on the basis of a request by elected municipal assembly members or a petition by inhabitants in those areas where there has been sizeable participation by the community concerned in the municipal elections. UNMIK will ensure implementation;
Municipal units will have the right to manage the areas of primary and secondary education, primary health care, urban and rural planning, and the development of services and facilities, in accordance with municipal policy. They will have decision making authority over issues of local importance, such as markets, public spaces, cultural activities and sports;
Municipal units will be provided with a budget commensurate with the responsibilities and size of the unit.
Furthermore, it is my position that in those municipalities where non-majority communities have participated in a sizeable way in the municipal elections, they will be entitled to executive posts in the municipal government in line with Article 4.5 of the Constitutional Framework.
After discussion of this concept and taking due account of the opinions expressed, I will promulgate the decentralisation programme in the form of a legally binding document.Following this, elections for the councils of the municipal units will be organised within six months after the initiation of their establishment.
2. In the longer term, we will need to address issues of municipal development which are even more fundamental. In line with European standards, and on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity, we will need to take a look at the competencies of central and local authorities and redefine them where necessary.
Another challenge will be to adapt the geographical size of municipalities to the changing number of inhabitants. For example, the population of Pristina municipality already exceeds half a million. This is far above the average size of European municipalities.
These fundamental issues of municipal development can, of course, not be resolved overnight. A comprehensive discussion will be needed so that the structure of government is appropriate to Kosovo’s needs and reflects modern European practice. I will invite European institutions, like the Council of Europe, to help us in this work.
