Association ambush on the road to the KiE: France and Germany seek dedication, Kurti rejects it as conditional

But, for now, Kosovo is not on the agenda of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, which will meet on May 16th and 17th in Strasbourg, Radio Free Europe reported yesterday.

The expectations were to vote at that meeting for Kosovo's accession to this organisation.

According to diplomatic sources of some European Council countries, there are several states that prefer that Kosovo be not at all in the agenda, rather than vote negative.

But according to them, “cannot be said that Kosovo has been removed from the agenda, as it has not been in the order of the day”.

Similarly, on April 16th, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted in favour of Kosovo membership.

But, meanwhile, states like France and Germany called for conditioning Kosovo's membership in the KiE, with the establishment of the Serb majority municipalities' association.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti rejected this condition, saying the issue of Association concerns dialogue for normalising relations with Serbia, not the Council of Europe.

US Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar said Wednesday that “worries that Kosovo may not have the votes to be admitted to the Council of Europe”.

For Kosovo to become a member of the largest human rights organisation on the continent, its accession must be supported by at least two-thirds of the 46 member states.