French Ambassador: Kosovo must be a member of KiEʹ, but there are still processes that must be passed

France's ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guerot, has said Kosovo deserves membership in the Council of Europe, but according to him, there are still processes in which it needs to be passed.

He said the Ohrid Agreement is not finding application, while considering it important is also the establishment of the Serb majority municipalities' Association.

After implementing the Constitutional Court's decision to provide land for the Decani Monastery, Kosovo is also a step towards membership in the Council of Europe.

Support for this is being given by France's ambassador to Kosovo Olivier Guerot, who in an interview for Tv1, said the country has made significant steps to join the Council.

The initiative to evacuate mayors in four northern municipalities is also being seen.

However, according to the French ambassador, there are also some steps in which it must be passed to the final stage.

“I think that Kosovo as a country of European devotion certainly should, and will be a member of the Council of Europe. There is a process to become a member of the Council of Europe. First, member states must decide on this. The first step was taken several months ago, when member states decided to have parliament review this. It was a link between dialogue and normalisation until MPs discussed it. The parliament assembly may now seek to discuss Kosovo's application”, the French ambassador has said.

And important, the French diplomat sees the implementation of the agreement reached in February 2023 between Prime Minister Kurti and President Vuciq.

Guerot, considers it the right time to also establish the Association of Serb majority municipalities.

The “is an important agreement, has very great potential for Kosovo. And yet, for various reasons, things have not moved since then. And what we hope, especially about the subject and the idea of the Serb majority municipalities, if there were any progress. The EU has made a proposal that is very balanced, positive, functional. I think it's time for the Kosovo authorities to act with this proposal”, Guerot says.

Asked about Serbia's approach to dialogue, and if it is willing to recognise the Republic of Kosovo, Ambassador Guerot says there are positive voices in that direction.

There are discussions behind public statements. This Tuesday there were discussions between two chief negotiators. I'm not saying there are hidden diplomacy, but we are talking, and we think, EU mediators, and negotiators from Serbia and the Republic of Kosovo are holding meetings. The February agreement was proposed after France and Germany's initiative in September 2022, and was backed up by major EU involvement. We think that first this agreement is binding, second in a way is the obligation to that, and in the EU we are discussing how this can reflect on relations with Serbia”, he has said.

On March 18th in Ohrid, the agreement reached in Brussels has also been attached to the annex of implementation, which aims for Kosovo and Serbia to become part of the respective membership processes in the European Union.