Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supports Kosovo's membership

(Patria) - The majority of deputies of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported Kosovo's membership in that organization dedicated to human rights and the development of democracy at today's plenary session in Strasbourg.

The report was compiled by Greek deputy Dora Bakoyannis, and its draft was approved by the organization's Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy in March, RSE writes.

Addressing the Assembly, Bakoyannis emphasized that Kosovo, "despite some shortcomings," is a functional democracy and meets the conditions for admission.

She pointed out that legal experts have also confirmed the position that Kosovo meets the basic conditions for membership in the Council of Europe.

Referring to the formation of the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority in Kosovo, she assessed that it is an issue that falls within the "internal jurisdiction of Kosovo and has nothing to do with admission to the Council of Europe".

Therefore, she said that the Council of Ministers should invite Kosovo to become a member of the Council of Europe, adding that her report does not cover the issue of recognizing or not recognizing Kosovo and that she is not obliged to deal with the issue of citizenship.

She stated that if that were the case, she would not have agreed to prepare the report and would have adapted to the position of her country, Greece, which does not recognize Kosovo's independence.

Like Bakoyannis, other speakers, including legal experts, welcomed the decision of the Kosovo government to implement the Constitutional Court's decision on the land of the Visoki Dečani Monastery. It was also stated that the issue of expropriation will be carefully monitored in the post-accession process.

The majority was "for"

The majority of deputies who participated in the debate supported Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe.

German representative Frank Schwabe praised the report and called for Kosovo to be allowed membership, while Zsolt Nemeth from Hungary, representing the European Conservative Party, said he was against the presented report.

As one of the main reasons, he cited the failure to establish the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, adding that "ignoring Serbia's interests is destabilizing".

Meanwhile, Iulian Bulai, a representative from Romania, which does not recognize Kosovo's independence, said he supports Kosovo's membership and expects the country to fulfill its membership obligations.

- Our struggle is not for states, but for the rights of individuals. We defend the rights of individuals, not states and ethnic groups. Kosovo is ready and deserves to be admitted to the Council of Europe, but it must ensure adequate protection for the Serbian community - stated Bulai.

Piero Fassino from Italy said that the rights of the Serbian minority can be better protected if Kosovo becomes part of the Council of Europe, and speaking about the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority, he said he fears that this body will resemble Republika Srpska.

Greek representative Alexis Tsirpas also said he supports Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe.

Biljana Pantić Pilja from Serbia criticized the presented report, saying that the issue of establishing the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority cannot be ignored.

- If you allow it to enter the Council of Europe without establishing the Community, then it will never be established - she asserted.

Montenegrin representative Maja Vukićević, a member of the pro-Russian Democratic People's Party, also spoke out against Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe.

The day before the vote, numerous consultations were held in Strasbourg to gauge the mood.

There were meetings of delegations from political parties, while the delegations of Serbia and Kosovo made final efforts to persuade deputies to vote for their side in large numbers - in Kosovo's case, to approve a positive opinion for membership, and in Serbia's case, against.

The delegation of the Assembly of Kosovo is also present at the headquarters of the Council of Europe, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Donika Gervala, held meetings at various levels.

The impression of delegates from several Council of Europe member states, with whom Radio Free Europe spoke, is that favorable votes for Kosovo will be secured at the session.

However, it was noted that at the last moment, some member states that recognize Kosovo as a state made moves, but are unsure about supporting Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe at this time.

It will also be a challenge to ensure the presence of a sufficient number of deputies to secure the necessary quorum. At least one-third of the total number of members of the Parliamentary Assembly must be present.

The possibility of a certain number of deputies not participating in the session at all is also mentioned.

What's next?

If the Parliamentary Assembly votes for Kosovo's membership on Tuesday, the matter will pass to the Council of Europe's foreign ministers, who must ultimately decide whether to accept Kosovo as the newest member of the organization or not.

The next meeting of the Council of Ministers will be held in mid-May. The Council of Foreign Ministers of the Council of Europe meets once a year, traditionally in May.

However, there are whispers in diplomatic circles that Kosovo's membership may not be placed on the agenda of the May ministerial meeting.

This also applies to the activity of the Quint countries - the USA, Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy - which generally support Kosovo, but want Pristina to move towards establishing the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority.

Regarding the report, which will be voted on Tuesday, it mentions the establishment of the Community of Municipalities with a Serbian majority as a condition after membership in the Council of Europe, but it is known that the Italian delegation proposed an amendment requiring Kosovo to establish the Community before joining the Council of Europe.

It remains unclear until the last moment how the vote will proceed and in what form the text will be approved. The debate on Kosovo and the vote are expected to take place on Tuesday afternoon in Strasbourg.