Kosovo moved a step closer towards a stable institutional structure on Sunday, when its Constitution came into force. The ceremony which marked the event - boycotted by Serbians - took place amid rising tension with neighbouring Serbia, which continues to hamper efforts to stabilize the new state. Although Serbia currently has an interim Government while the country's new executive is chosen, Belgrade continues to attack Kosovo on all fronts.

Serbian leaders have repeatedly said that they will not recognize the new State of Kosovo, nor will they accept Pristina's authority over areas with a majority Serb population, most of which are located in the north of the newly independent country. According to RFE/RL, Marko Jaksic, President of the Community of Serb Municipalities and Enclaves in Kosovo, declared that majority Serb zones will only ever recognize the Serbian Constitution. Polling stations were set up in these territories for the Serbian parliamentary elections on 11 March, against the will of the Kosovo Government.

On the basis of the results of these elections, a new, exclusively Serbian parliament will be formed as an alternative to the official Kosovo Parliament. The alternative parliament will be dominated by Serbian nationalist parties such as the Serbian Radical Party and the Democratic Party of Serbia and will take effect on 28 June.

Serbia rejects EU proposals
Belgrade and Pristina are currently fighting a war of international diplomacy. With Russian support, Serbia has succeeded in blocking the European Union deployment of an international police force throughout Kosovo. The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) was due to come to an end on Sunday. The deployment of an EU police force will now be delayed until September.

Further information:

• Le Monde: Le Kosovo adopte sa Constitution, nouvelle étape vers la souveraineté
• EiTB 24: Kosovo estrena la Constitución que le otorga poderes de Estado
• RFE/RL: Kosovo: Constitution Born Amid Fears Of Turmoil
• AlertNet: Serbia rejects U.N. proposal on Kosovo EU mission