Council of Europe says it is considering how to proceed in Kosovo case

Hasler, who is Liechtenstein's foreign minister, the state who has had the leadership of the KiE presidency, said after the meeting of the Committee of Ministers on May 17th that Kosovo is mentioned at meetings by member states.

Kosovo's “accession was mentioned several times today under national declarations of ministers. We have received letter from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe with the recommendation for Kosovo's accession, and we have done everything within our presidency to advance the process, along with member states. And the Committee of Ministers has only started discussions on the issue and is currently considering how to proceed”, she said.

At the meeting of the Committee of Ministers, according to the official KiE website, no vote on Kosovo's accession to this human rights organisation was included.

Kosovo has already passed two phases in the accession process in this organisation, and the Committee of Ministers is the one who decides whether a state will be admitted to the Council of Ministers or not.

 

 

 

After passing the recommendation for Kosovo's admission to the KiE Parliamentary Assembly, some states decided on condition that Kosovo establish the Association of Serb majority municipalities if it wants to become a member of the organisation with headquarters in Strasbourg.

Meanwhile, Lithuania's Prime Minister, Ingrida Simonyte, said that when it comes to Kosovo's accession, the issue has nothing to do with whether it should be accepted but when.

On 16 May, through a letter sent to the Council of Europe, Kosovo said it pledged it would draft a draft state for Association and the same will send for interpretation at the Constitutional Court by the end of May. With that pledge, Kosovo said it fulfilled the condition set by some members of the Council of Europe, and Pristina demanded that it become a member of this European human rights organisation.

But, Germany, one of the states that has set the condition for Kosovo in the KiE, said it considers as a concrete “step” only when Kosovo is handed over to the Constitutional Court draft state for association.
So far, several draft stations for Association have been introduced, including one from the EU in October last year.

But, in the letter sent to the KiE, Kosovo said it plans to draft its draft, being inspired by the draft presented by German organisation Friedrich-Ebert-Steftung.

At the end of January 2023, The FES published a draft status for the establishment of association in accordance with the Constitution and the Kosovo legal system, as the Government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti insists. / REL

Backback before the KiE Committee meeting: Kosovo to do everything to secure the majority