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A municipality (Albanian: komunë, Serbian: општина/ opština) is the basic administrative division in Kosovo. There are 38 municipalities in Kosovo; 27 of which have Albanian majority, 10–Serb and 1–Turkish (Mamusha). After the 2013 Brussels Agreement between the governments of Kosovo and Serbia, Serbia recognised the municipalities and the Republic's governance of the territory, and agreed to create an association of Serb-majority municipalities, which will operate within the Kosovo legal framework.
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Powers of municipalities
All municipalities have the following competences, as regulated by Law Nr. 03/L-040 of the Constitution of Kosovo:
- Local economic development.
- Urban and rural planning.
- Land use and development.
- Implementation of building regulations and building control standards.
- Local environmental protection.
- Provision and maintenance of public services and utilities, including water supply, sewers and drains, sewage treatment, waste management, local roads, local transport and local heating schemes.
- Local emergency response.
- Provision of public pre-primary, primary and secondary education, including registration and licensing of educational institutions, recruitment, payment of salaries and training of education instructors and administrators.
- Provision of public primary health care.
- Provision of family and other social welfare services, such as care for the vulnerable, foster care, child care, elderly care, including registration and licensing of these care centers, recruitment, payment of salaries and training of social welfare professionals.
- Public housing.
- Public health.
- Licensing of local services and facilities, including those related to entertainment, cultural and leisure activities, food, lodging, markets, street vendors, local public transportation and taxis.
- Naming of roads, streets and other public places.
- Provision and maintenance of public parks and spaces.
- Tourism.
- Cultural and leisure activities.
- Any matter which is not explicitly excluded from their competence nor assigned to other authorities.
In addition, all municipalities with Serb majorities have additional powers over the appointment of local police commanders, religious and cultural heritage sites within their boundaries; some of them have competences over universities and secondary health which in non-Serb-majority municipalities are a matter for central government (and, through the right of association of municipalities, even those Serb-majority municipalities which are not specifically given these powers may exercise them in association with those that do).
The Community of Serbian municipalities (Serbian: Заједница српских општина / Zajednica Srpskih Opština; Albanian: Asociacioni i komunave serbe) is an association of municipalities with significant Serbian population, which was expected to be created in 2015 but has been indefinitely postponed over conflicts about extent of powers. The association came as a result of the 2013 Brussels Agreement signed by the Government of Kosovo and the Government of Serbia.
Former municipalities
Between 1990 and 2000 in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija there were the following additional municipalities:
In 2000 both were merged into the new municipality of Dragash. The number of municipalities remained 30 until 2005, because at the same time the new municipality of Malishevë was formed by taking territories from the municipalities of Rahovec (District of Gjakova), Suharekë (District of Prizren), Klinë (District of Pejë) and Gllogovc (District of Prishtinë).