Kosovo's main challenges for membership in Council of Europe

In April 2023, however, after an extraordinary meeting, the Ministerial Committee decided to submit the application for Kosovo's membership to the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly.

The Council of Europe has 47 members and accession to do so with the 2/3 majority votes.

Officially, the process of assessing Kosovo's app by the Council of Europe's Ministerial Committee began in the same month of 2023.

The Council of Europe's two main troops are: The Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly.

Kosovo cannot solve big issues without good communication

Abbit Hoxha, legalist and researcher at Agder University in Norway, estimates Kosovo is not well in communication with internationals.

Kosovo is currently in a favourable position in communication and lobbies with international partners to secure the necessary votes and support for membership in the Council of Europe”- Hoxha told Calexo.com.

But with little creativity in communication with the international community, he believes Kosovo can win two diplomatic victories that pave the way for this membership.

Kosovo has engaged a Co-ordination Group for Kosovo Membership in the Council of Europe, which has it on its mission to promote internal co-operation prepare for a clear and co-ordinated presentation of Kosovo's progress in critical areas, such as respect for human rights, rule of law and deepening democracy.

In 22.01.2024, Deputy Foreign Minister Kreshnik Ahmeti belonged to the chiefs of secretaries of three relevant committees for the Kosovo membership process at the Council of Europe.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced that during the meetings, it was discussed the review of Kosovo's application for membership in the KiE, respectively, for drafting opinion by the Committee for Political Affairs and Democracy, and for giving opinion by the other two committees.

However, university professor for international relations at the “Hasan Pristina” in Pristina, Africa Hoti neither did they say that at this moment Kosovo will be included in any international organisation.

Relations with key allies, he says, are weaker than ever before.

And we don't even talk at this moment about membership in international organizations, because it would be paradoxical for us to be organized either in the Council of Europe or in other international organisations, as long as we are without partnership with the United States and under the measures of the European Union” - Hoti told Calxo.com.

Above all, according to him, the political atmosphere in Kosovo that is a condition for integration into the European Union or the Council of Europe is not good.

Politicians in Kosovo, says Hoti, find it more difficult to communicate among themselves to solve problems than with others. “This is to regret”, he says, not excluding the possibility that the measures the EU has taken against Kosovo will continue further, “billy even more powerful”.

Unfortunately, as they have been blocked so far, they will continue to remain even more powerful”- he added.

The European Union, in 28.06.23, has applied restrictive measures to Kosovo regarding the situation created in the north following the elections for mayors of four Serb-run municipalities in the country's north.

Although European Union spokesman Peter Stano had not called him sanctions, he had confirmed in 14.06.23 that EU member states have agreed to impose “restrictive measures” with an immediate effect on Kosovo.

Two Issues Unsolved for Decades

The formation of the Serb Majority Commission Association and the context of the Decani Monastery's property remain two of the hottest points, as well as determining for Kosovo's fate on the Council of Europe and other international organisations.

“On one side requires implementation of a decision by Kosovo institutions for the Decani monastery, as well as to establish Association as mechanism to increase governance in the north, and on the other, to show international partners that Kosovo, however, is a place of rule of law” - Abit Hoxha told Kalxo.com.

Hoxha says the properties of the Decani Monastery and Association are part of the membership negotiations. While formally no conditions are, according to him, those are challenges Kosovo could return to its advantage as if it were implementing.

I have doubts that these issues mentioned above are placed on the EU agenda and the supportive states of Kosovo that cannot be exceeded”- Hoxha stresses.

Almost the same, Hoxha believes it is the situation with Kosovo Police Special Units, which, according to him, has no reason to hold in the north pending the loss of the situation. Instead, he says ordinary police patrols could accomplish their job.

In 2023, independent Council of Europe experts confirmed that Kosovo's legislation accords with the Council of Europe's standards of rule of law.

However, they also asked Kosovo to establish the Association of Serb majority municipalities, implement the Constitutional Court's decision on the ownership of the Decani Monastery, respect the independence of the judiciary and not send special police units for ordinary tasks in the northern part of Kosovo.

In the assessment report, experts, who are committed by the Council of Europe Assembly to assess whether there is any compliance with Kosovo's legal framework with Council of Europe standards, ask authorities to implement “without delay the Constitutional Court's decision in the case of the Decani Manastr”.

For this requirement, experts have referred to the 2016 decision of this court that recognises the Serbian Orthodox monastery ownership of a 24-acre area of land around it but is opposed by its residents.

The expert report is part of the analyses that will be assessed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe before Kosovo's application for membership is put to the polls.

For eight years since the Constitutional Court's ruling, Kosovo's 19.05,2016 governments have failed to implement this Constitutional Court ruling, becoming a criticism of the international community towards Kosovo, respectively.

In 2023, mission chiefs of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union have repeated the call for the Government of Kosovo to fully and urgently implement the legal registration of the land of the Decani Monastery.

In 2022, Prime Minister Albin Kurti had said that the heads of the Decani Monastery had been received by all the prime ministers before him and that he alone was rejected.

Kurti had declared that he had asked the priests to start a dialogue, but that they had not accepted it.

The powers have been divided, why so many requests to connect. We've been constantly asked not to get involved in other pillars, but in this case we are required to be close to” - Kurti said about the Constitutional Court's decision.

Meanwhile, the issue of association has remained open for over a decade now.

Kosovo and Serbia have reached the Association Agreement in 2013, while in August 2015, then Kosovo Prime Minister Isa Mustafa, and Serbia's current president, Aleksandar Vuciq, reached the Agreement on the principles for the establishment of this association -- this was never implemented because the Constitutional Court had found violations in 23 points.

In October 2023, representatives of the EU, the US, Germany, France and Italy presented it to the parties, Kosovo and Serbia, the draft state for the formation of association, which Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq accepted in principle.

Serbia's debut

Since Kosovo declared independence in 17.02.2008, Serbia has launched a lobby campaign against international recognitions and against Kosovo's accession to various regional and international organisations and mechanisms.

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vuciq had reacted against Kosovo's application for membership to the Council of Europe, with the reasoning that Kosovo has violated the Washington Agreement and that of Brussels.

With this agreement signed in Washington at 04.09.2020 Kosovo had agreed that within a year it would not seek membership in international organisations, while Serbia on the other side had agreed to halt the campaign to recognise Kosovo's independence within a year.

It's up to us not to enter into hate and conflict psychosis, but to give a strong, responsible, rational and serious answer” Vuciq said.

Germany's government at 04.05.2022 had confirmed support for Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe.

German MP Knut Abraham had indicated that Germany's Federal Government supports the membership of the Republic of Kosovo in the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe is an international human rights organisation, democracy and rule of law in Europe, headquartered in Strasbourg, France.

This organisation plays an important role in the process of expanding the European Union by supporting countries interested in carrying out reforms in line with human rights standards, democracy and the rule of law, as long as these reforms are necessary for closing enlargement.

It was founded in 1949 and advocates freedom of expression and media, equality and minority rights in member states.

The organisation assists various countries in fighting corruption and terrorism and in implementing needed judicial reforms. /Callo. com