Freedom of Movement/Bridge Conclusions

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Country/entity: Kosovo
Serbia
Yugoslavia (former)
Region: Europe and Eurasia
Agreement name: Freedom of Movement/Bridge Conclusions
Date: 25 Aug 2015
Agreement status: Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement: Yes
Agreement/conflict level: Interstate/intrastate conflict(s)
Balkan Conflicts (1991 - 1995) (1998 - 2001)
Former Yugoslavia

The disintegration of former Yugoslavia post cold war saw conflicts which became mediated and produced peace agreements in Slovenia (where the brief independence conflict was mediated by the EC Troika in 1991), Croatia (between Croatian and Serb populations 1991-1995), in Bosnia (between Croatian, Serb and Bosniak populations 1992-1995), in Macedonia (where mediation played a key pre-emptive role in preventing large scale conflict in 2001), in Kosovo (between Kosovar Albanians and Serbian population and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY), but also between FRY and NATO, 1998-1999), and a conflict in the Presevo Valley (between Albanians in South Serbia and FRY, 2000-2001). The continued fall-out of the disintegration of former Yugoslavia also saw mediated agreement and ultimate dissolution of the Union between Serbia and Montenegro.

Bosnia-Herzegovina

In 1991, after nationalist parties won the first multi-party elections in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a violent process of disintegration commenced. With its mixed population, Bosnia-Herzegovina became the centre of the following civil war that began in 1992 between the newly formed army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (mostly Muslim Bosniacs), and the parastatal forces of self-declared Bosnian Croat (Herzeg-Bosnia) and Bosnian Serb (Republika Srpska) entities within Bosnia-Herzegovina, supported by Croatia and Serbia, with various, often short-lived, coalitions. The General Framework Agreement (Dayton Peace Agreement), signed in 1995, split the country into two ethno-federal entities, the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska, and included continued peacekeeping and institutional administration by international actors.

Kosovo

The conflict between Serbs and Kosovar Albanians has a long history and always involved territorial disputes as well as ethno-political, cultural and linguistic factors. The most recent phase of the conflict began in November 1997 when the Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA or UCK) began their campaign for the independence of Kosovo from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY – then Serbia and Montenegro). The subsequent war lasted until the NATO intervention, which undertook bombing campaigns of Belgrade and other places in Serbia during spring 1999. The main agreements solving the conflict were internationally driven and, finally, a UNSC resolution imposed a post-conflict arrangement in the wake of what was essentially a NATO military victory. In February 2008, Kosovo’s parliament declared independence, but independence is still internationally disputed.
Stage: Framework/substantive - partial
Conflict nature: Government/territory
Peace process: Kosovo-Serbia Normalisation Process
Parties: Agreement unsigned, parties believed to be the Kosovo delegation, led by Prime Minister Isa Mustafa and the Serbian delegation led by Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic
Third parties: Agreement unsigned, meeting was chaired by the Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
Description: Five-point agreement to revitalise the Mitrovica bridge and its surroundings, and turn King Peter Street into a pedestrian zone, in order to remove barricades and facilitate freedom of movement between the north and south of the city. It also sets out a timeline for resolving the maps of the boundaries of cadastral areas in the Suvi Do/Suhadoli and Kroi i Vitakut/Brdjani area.

Agreement document: KV_150825_WG Freedom of Movement-Bridge Conclusions.pdf (opens in new tab) | Download PDF

Groups

Children/youth: No specific mention.
Disabled persons: No specific mention.
Elderly/age: No specific mention.
Migrant workers: No specific mention.
Racial/ethnic/national group: No specific mention.
Religious groups: No specific mention.
Indigenous people: No specific mention.
Other groups: No specific mention.
Refugees/displaced persons: No specific mention.
Social class: No specific mention.

Gender

Women, girls and gender: No specific mention.
Men and boys: No specific mention.
LGBTI: No specific mention.
Family: No specific mention.

State definition

Nature of state (general): No specific mention.
State configuration: No specific mention.
Self determination: No specific mention.
Referendum: No specific mention.
State symbols: No specific mention.
Independence/secession: No specific mention.
Accession/unification: No specific mention.
Border delimitation: No specific mention.
Cross-border provision: No specific mention.

Governance

Political institutions (new or reformed): No specific mention.
Elections: No specific mention.
Electoral commission: No specific mention.
Political parties reform: No specific mention.
Civil society: No specific mention.
Traditional/religious leaders: No specific mention.
Public administration: No specific mention.
Constitution: No specific mention.

Power sharing

Political power sharing: No specific mention.
Territorial power sharing: No specific mention.
Economic power sharing: No specific mention.
Military power sharing: No specific mention.

Human rights and equality

Human rights/RoL general: No specific mention.
Bill of rights/similar: No specific mention.
Treaty incorporation: No specific mention.
Civil and political rights: No specific mention.
Socio-economic rights: No specific mention.

Rights related issues

Citizenship: No specific mention.
Democracy: No specific mention.
Detention procedures: No specific mention.
Media and communication: No specific mention.
Mobility/access: Page 1, 1. Both sides asked the EU to revitalise the Mitrovica bridge and its surroundings, as per the recommendations of the technical assessment and based on the architectural design of 29 June 2015 agreed between the two sides.

Page 1, 2. On 15 October 2015 the contractor will close both sides of the bridge by fixed bridge barriers and construction site fence. The construction work on the bridge will be carried out by accessing the construction site through the southern access road. The bridge will open for all traffic by summer/not later than end of June 2016.

Page 1, 3. In line with the same timetable, the municipality will revitalise its main street (King Peter Street) into a pedestrian zone. The street will open for pedestrians by summer/not later than end of June 2016.
Protection measures: No specific mention.
Other: No specific mention.

Rights institutions

NHRI: No specific mention.
Regional or international human rights institutions: No specific mention.

Justice sector reform

Criminal justice and emergency law: No specific mention.
State of emergency provisions: No specific mention.
Judiciary and courts: No specific mention.
Prisons and detention: No specific mention.
Traditional Laws: No specific mention.

Socio-economic reconstruction

Development or socio-economic reconstruction: Socio-economic reconstruction→Development or socio-economic reconstruction→Infrastructure and reconstruction
Page 1, 1. Both sides asked the EU to revitalise the Mitrovica bridge and its surroundings, as per the recommendations of the technical assessment and based on the architectural design of 29 June 2015 agreed between the two sides.

Page 1, 2. On 15 October 2015 the contractor will close both sides of the bridge by fixed bridge barriers and construction site fence. The construction work on the bridge will be carried out by accessing the construction site through the southern access road. The bridge will open for all traffic by summer/not later than end of June 2016.

Page 1, 3. In line with the same timetable, the municipality will revitalise its main street (King Peter Street) into a pedestrian zone. The street will open for pedestrians by summer/not later than end of June 2016.

Page 1, 4. The WG [working group] will regularly monitor and review together with both mayors the prevailing political and security conditions in municipalities during the revitalisation process.
National economic plan: No specific mention.
Natural resources: No specific mention.
International funds: No specific mention.
Business: No specific mention.
Taxation: No specific mention.
Banks: No specific mention.

Land, property and environment

Land reform/rights: Land, property and environment→Land reform/rights→Land reform and management
Page 1, 5. By 10 October 2015 the maps of administrative boundaries of cadastral areas in Suvi Do/Suhadoli and Kroi i Vitakut/Brdjani area will be solved through the Memorandum of Understanding on Municipal Development Plans, the Municipal Zoning Map and Detailed Regulatory Plan between relevant ministries and the two municipalities.
Pastoralist/nomadism rights: No specific mention.
Cultural heritage: No specific mention.
Environment: No specific mention.
Water or riparian rights or access: No specific mention.

Security sector

Security Guarantees: No specific mention.
Ceasefire: No specific mention.
Police: No specific mention.
Armed forces: No specific mention.
DDR: No specific mention.
Intelligence services: No specific mention.
Parastatal/rebel and opposition group forces: No specific mention.
Withdrawal of foreign forces: No specific mention.
Corruption: No specific mention.
Crime/organised crime: No specific mention.
Drugs: No specific mention.
Terrorism: No specific mention.

Transitional justice

Transitional justice general: No specific mention.
Amnesty/pardon: No specific mention.
Courts: No specific mention.
Mechanism: No specific mention.
Prisoner release: No specific mention.
Vetting: No specific mention.
Victims: No specific mention.
Missing persons: No specific mention.
Reparations: No specific mention.
Reconciliation: No specific mention.

Implementation

UN signatory: No specific mention.
Other international signatory: No specific mention.
Referendum for agreement: No specific mention.
International mission/force/similar: No specific mention.
Enforcement mechanism: No specific mention.
Related cases: No specific mention.
Source: Government of the Republic of Serbia, Negotiation process with Pristina
http://www.kim.gov.rs/eng/pregovaracki-proces.php

WG Freedom of Movement/Bridge Conclusions, 25 August 2015/2

1. Both sides asked the EU to revitalise the Mitrovica Bridge and its surroundings, as per the recommendations of the technical assessment backed on the architectural design of 29 June 2015 agreed between the two sides.

2. On 15 October 2015 the contractor will close both sides of the bridge by fixed bridge barriers and construction side fence.

The constructiion work on the bridge will be carried out by assessing the construction side through the southern access road.

The bridge will open for all traffic by the summer/not later than end of June 2016.

3. In line with the same timetable, the municipality will rvitalise its main street (King Peter Street) into a pedestrian zone.

The street will open for pedestrians by summer/not later than end of June 2016.

4. The WG will regularly monitor and review together with both majors the prevailing political and security conditions in municipalities during the revitalisation process.

5. By 10 October 2015 the maps of administrative boundaries of cadastral areas in Suvi Do/Suhadoli and Kroi i Vitakut/Brdjani areas will be solved through the Memorandum of Understanding on Municipal Development Plans, the Municipal Zoning Map and Detailed Regulatory Plan between the relevant ministries and the two municipalities.