Nikšić Assembly Rejects Initiative to Revoke Recognition of Kosovo

The Democratic People’s Party’s (DNP) initiative to adopt a declaration calling for the “withdrawal of recognition” of Kosovo has been rejected by the Nikšić Municipal Assembly. The reason cited was the local government’s lack of legal authority to decide on matters of this nature.

The DNP, led by Milan Knežević, initiated the proposal. The party’s local councilors called on the Nikšić Municipal Assembly to adopt a declaration through which Montenegro would revoke its recognition of Kosovo.

In the proposed document, the DNP described Montenegro’s recognition of Kosovo in 2008 as a decision made “against the will of the majority of citizens.” The same initiative described Kosovo as an “inseparable part of Serbia.”

The New Serb Democracy (NSD), a party that is part of the local government, opposed the proposal. It argued that decisions on recognizing a state or withdrawing recognition belong solely to the central institutions and do not fall within the responsibilities of local self-government.

The NSD recalled that it had expressed the same position in 2012. At the time, the party had opposed another initiative that, according to it, sought to link the issue of Kosovo’s recognition to political agreements at the local level.

“We said then, just as we say now, that this is not within the jurisdiction of local self-government. Those who believe that municipalities recognized Kosovo and must now withdraw that recognition may continue with such initiatives, but this will not happen in Nikšić,” the NSD said in its response.

Meanwhile, the Montenegrin daily Pobjeda reported that European Union officials had informally conveyed to Montenegrin authorities their concern regarding initiatives to revoke the recognition of Kosovo.

According to the report, the officials warned that such a move could have negative consequences for Montenegro’s European integration process. So far, however, the European Union has not issued any official statement confirming these claims.

Developments in Nikšić also highlight divisions among pro-Serbian political forces in Montenegro over how to address the Kosovo issue, even though these parties hold similar views regarding its status.