Joint Council of Municipalities

This article is about the association in Croatia. For the association in Kosovo, see Community of Serb Municipalities.

Joint Council of Municipalities
Croatian: Zajedničko vijeće općina
Serbian: Заједничко веће општина
AbbreviationZVO
Formation1997[2] (due to Erdut Agreement[3] from 1995)
Founded atVukovar
Legal statusSui generis body formed on the basis of international agreement
PurposeProtection of interests of and rights of Serbs in Eastern Croatia
HeadquartersVukovar[4][5] (regional office in Beli Manastir),[6] Croatia
Location
Region served
Areas that were under the control of former Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Syrmia
Membership
Trpinja
Erdut
Markušica
Borovo
Jagodnjak
Negoslavci
Šodolovci
Official language
Croatian
Serbian
President
Dejan Drakulić[7]
Secretary
Vinko Lazić[7]
Main organ
Assembly of the Joint Council of Municipalities
AffiliationsSerb National Council
Budget (2019)
6,363,531 Croatian kunas[8] (≈860,000 € or ≈950,000 $)
WebsiteOfficial site
TV Production

The Joint Council of Municipalities in Croatia (Croatian: Zajedničko vijeće općina; Serbian: Заједничко веће општина, romanized: Zajedničko veće opština; abbr. ЗВО, ZVO) is an elected consultative sui generis body which constitutes a form of cultural self-government of Serbs in the eastern Croatian Podunavlje region. The body was established in the initial aftermath of the Croatian War of Independence as a part of the international community's efforts to peacefully settle the conflict in self-proclaimed Eastern Slavonia, Baranya and Western Syrmia. The establishment of the ZVO was one of the explicit provisions of the Erdut Agreement which called upon the United Nations to establish its UNTAES transitional administration.

The Joint Council of Municipalities is not an autonomous administrative unit but a form of cultural autonomy in conformity with relevant Croatian and international law including provisions on local government cooperation. The body and some of its partners are actively pushing for formal legal recognition of ZVO legal personality within the Constructional Act on the Rights of National Minorities with limited success. The proposed change aims to transform its current standing of a free association into a more transparently institutionalized one.

The Joint Council of Municipalities is the founding member of the Serb National Council, national coordination of the Serbs in Croatia.

  1. ^ "Status Zajedničkog vijeća općina" (PDF). Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  2. ^ LogIT Internet Usluge – www.logit.hr – tel: 01/3773-062, 01/3773-063, 042/207-507. ".: Radio Borovo :". Radio-borovo.hr.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "Peace Agreements Digital Collection-Croatia-The Erdut Agreement, United States Institute of Peace" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 February 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  4. ^ Statut Zajedničkog vijeća općina, Vukovar, 2001.
  5. ^ "Minority Rights Group International : Croatia : Minority Based & Advocacy Organizations". Minorityrights.org. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
  6. ^ "Snv – Vijesti – Zvo U Novu Godinu Učvršćen I Ojačan". Snv.hr. 30 December 2010. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
  7. ^ a b "ДЕЈАН ДРАКУЛИЋ НОВИ ПРЕДСЕДНИК ЗАЈЕДНИЧКОГ ВЕЋА ОПШТИНА" (in Serbian). Zajedničko veće opština.
  8. ^ "Skupština ZVO-a: Osigurana finansijska stabilnost i realizacija projekata" (in Serbian). Srbi.hr. 28 December 2018.