Joint Council of Municipalities
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.
| Croatian: Zajedničko vijeće općina Serbian: Заједничко веће општина | |
Member municipalities in dark green | |
| Abbreviation | ZVO |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1997 (due to Erdut Agreement from 1995) |
| Founded at | Vukovar |
| Legal status | Sui generis body formed on the basis of international agreement |
| Purpose | Protection of interests of and rights of Serbs in Eastern Croatia |
| Headquarters | Vukovar (regional office in Beli Manastir), 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 |
Secretary | Vinko Lazić |
Main organ | Assembly of the Joint Council of Municipalities |
| Affiliations | Serb National Council |
Budget (2019) | 6,363,531 Croatian kunas (≈860,000 € or ≈950,000 $) |
| Website | Official site TV Production |
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.