Kosovo leader refers Serbia deal to top court
Atifete Jahjaga - Photo EU Council
(PRISTINA) - The Kosovo president Friday asked the country's top court to review an EU-brokered deal aimed at normalising ties with Serbia which has fuelled dramatic tear gas protests in parliament.
President Atifete Jahjaga asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the legality of the agreement, her legal adviser told reporters, particularly on the creation of an association of Serb-run municipalities giving greater autonomy to Kosovo's Serb minority.
The opposition is against the deal, saying the initiative will deepen Kosovo's ethnic divide and increase Serbia's influence, and this month paralysed parliamentary sessions three weeks in a row by releasing tear gas in the chamber.
The deal brokered by Brussels in 2013 enabled both Belgrade and Pristina to make progress on their respective paths towards membership in the European Union.
The court has 60 days for its review and could suspend the implementation of the agreement, which is due by the end of the year.
Jahjaga's move was condemned by Belgrade which sees it as an "obstruction" of agreements with Pristina. Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic has called a government session to review the matter.
The Kosovo opposition has also rejected a border agreement with neighbouring Montenegro reached in August, which it says led to a loss of territory.
Kosovo, whose population is predominantly ethnic Albanian, declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade does not recognise the split.
Kosovo and Serbia were at war in 1998-1999, which ended after Serbian armed forces withdrew from the territory following an 11-week NATO bombing campaign.