Wolfan: Major Questions for Kosovo to Join Council of Europe

After reviewing the application by the Committee of Ministers, the final word remains to the Parliamentary Assembly, which consists of representatives of member states. A new member's admission into the KiE takes place in the event the applied state secures 2/3 of the votes.

The executive director of the Council of European Investors, Emrush Wolfani, estimates the odds are real for Kosovo to be admitted to this international organisation.

In an interview, He has said Kosovo has long secured 2/3 of the votes for membership, especially after agreements reached between Kosovo and Serbia on February 27th in Brussels and on March 18th in Ohrid. (Klankosova. tv)

After applying on May 12th 2022 and recent developments, especially with the two agreements reached in Brussels and Ohrid, and given the fact that this mechanism requires 2/3 for a country's membership -- the number that Kosovo has long secured -- these are indications that Kosovo should not have an obstacle to membership in the Council of Europe.

“Absolutely the odds are great. It should not be forgotten that recent agreements include the possibility that Kosovo will join international organisations that are supported by the entire international democratic community, so I see no obstacle in this direction”.

The professor estimates that, with pledges Kosovo has taken to implement the Ohrid Agreement, it has received strong support from the international community for membership in international organisations.

It is important to underline, even if there is a tendency to condition this membership by any criterion, yet you know that the Kosovo side has given its signals very positive to implement the Brussels agreement and this of Ohrid”.

On March 16, 2022, Russia was expelled from KiE because of its aggression in Ukraine. However, Wojan has said that even if Russia continued to remain a member of this Council, it would not undermine Kosovo's membership.

“Even if Russia had not been excluded from the Council of Europe, it could not prevent Kosovo from knowing that 2/3 of the votes are needed there, and as I mentioned earlier, Kosovo has long achieved such support”.

Another element is the fact that Kosovo is lined up with Western countries to impose sanctions on Russia, thus opposing aggression in Ukraine and being an active participant in protection of Ukrainian people such as journalists' housing, all of these had to be loaned to Kosovo as additional values”.

Asked about what Kosovo benefits in the event its application is accepted on the part of the KiE, Wolfani emphasises that the citizens of Kosovo would benefit most from this membership.

Europe's Council is the main regional organisation for the protection of human rights and freedoms. In this direction, Kosovo's citizens would be the biggest beneficiaries, since in the future, justice, except at national level, could be sought by the Court of Human Rights and Freedoms at the Council of Europe because the main KiE legal instrument is exactly the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms”.

We remember that the Council of Europe is an international organisation founded in the continuation of World War II to support human rights, democracy and rule of law in Europe.

So far, no country has joined the European Union without initially becoming a member of the Council of Europe.

Although the Council of Europe cannot make laws, it has the power to push ahead with the implementation of selected international agreements reached by member states on different topics.

The Council of Europe's best-known body is the European Court of Human Rights, which functions under the European Convention on Human Rights.