Kurti trapped on her pledge to establish Zajednica, France and Germany set the stage for membership in the KiE

What did France and Germany tell Kurt last night?

French President Emmanuel Macro called Prime Minister Kurti yesterday. As the French presidency reports, Macro recalled France's steadfast support for Kosovo's independence and European integration”.

“He underscored his commitment to dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, support European mediation, and called for full implementation of the Brussels-Orer” agreements.

In the announcement, President Macro also said he welcomed the implementation of the Constitutional Court's decision on the Decani Monastery.

“However, he stressed the importance France devotes, even in the context of Kosovo's application for membership to the Council of Europe, rapid and irreversible progress in the implementation of the Kosovo Commission Association authorities”, the report said.

While this request by the head of the Republic of France did not sit well with Prime Minister Kurti, who said he has asked Macroni for membership in the Council of Europe, without further conditions, which would fall short of submitting her vote without sending the draft Association statute to the Constitutional Court.

The prime minister informed that Macron has insisted on full implementation of the basic agreement with Serbia.

“In a call with President Macron, I thanked France for its firm support for Kosovo and expressed our confidence that France will support Kosovo in the Council of Europe, without further preconditions, in line with the Council of Europe Assembly's opinion and historic vote. I also insisted on respecting and implementing the constitutional agreement”, Kurti writes.

Yesterday, Germany sent a message to Kurt about forming association. Germany's ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, has said that Kosovo should make tangible “steps for the Association of Serb majority municipalities, if it wants to join the Council of Europe.

Vulnerable steps must be taken because the Council of Europe devotes particular importance to the issue of minority rights. The best way to show that Kosovo is committed to implementing it is to start implementing Association. So take a tangible step, because even the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has said it should be taken after accession”, Rohde said at KTV.

Rohde has said that the more “is done before the Committee of Ministers meeting, the greater the possibility of a successful” vote.

Vjosa Osmani: Association statute bill to be sent to Constitutional Court

Republic of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani said yesterday that Kosovo does not object to implementing its obligations, but requires a binding agreement on both Kosovo and Serbia.

Osman in an interview for Voice of America said Kosovo will address the Constitutional Court for the Association statute after an agreement has been reached earlier on how acts stemming from the agreement signed in Ohrid by Kosovo and Serbia last year.

Vjosa Osmani: The plan is obviously clear. The sequence agreement must be concluded which step of implementation is needed first, second and so on. Once the sequence plan is completed, of course, Kosovo, as the Constitutional Court's decision of 2015 is to submit the draft state to the Constitutional Court. Then it is up to the Constitutional Court to decide whether the draft is in line with the Constitutional Court of Kosovo and with the Constitutional Court's act.

As president of the country I have a series of concerns about the draft, but I have full confidence that the Constitutional Court will make sure that everything is in accordance with the Constitution and the act of 2015, because otherwise I think that many things can be misused in practice during the interpretation of the statute and could cause major problems, which will then be difficult to manage without developing tensions. So even because of security, which is necessary because of stability, which is a prerequisite for peace, but above all because we have to preserve the functionality of our state, we need to be sure that everything is in accordance with the Constitution before steps are taken for full implementation of Association.

Voice of America: Are the statute the international community has given to Kosovo for Association soon to reach the Constitutional Court?

Vjosa Osmani: I can't set deadlines. Under the statute, but also the Constitutional Court Act of 2015, this is the task of the Kosovo government. So it could be the relevant ministry or a government decision, but that depends a lot on the flow of dialogue as well. As I mentioned, we should have a sequence plan, which clearly envisions which step from Kosovo is taken first, which step is taken also in parallel so that both sides can implement in parallel and both sides benefit.

But we cannot ask Kosovo to implement the main part of the agreement, and Serbia, to catch it, not to demand that it vote for the Council of Europe. If implementation is required, both should be required, as I said, otherwise the full credibility of dialogue and the principle of equal treatment of parties no longer make any sense. Because somehow, only one side remains in the process, as the other has already been formally withdrawn by sending letters to the EU that will not implement the agreement. And so said Vucic on the Security Council today, who they love Association, but without taking any step towards mutual recognition, whether de facto or de jure in relation to Kosovo. The agreement, in fact, has all elements of the de facto recognition, from recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity to other principles of the UN Charter, which apply only among states. But they say it clearly that they will not. / P ERISCOPIA