Rohde: Request for Association draft status for KiE membership is not surprising for Kurti

Germany's ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, has said Germany wants Kosovo in the Council of Europe, but a two-thirds majority of member states are needed to ensure this.

Rohde said that at the centre of the Council of Europe is the protection of minorities, and in this context, according to him, implementation of the Decani Monastery decision was an important step

“However, establishing the Association of Serb-based municipalities is also a very important issue for which Kosovo is already devoted to the 2013 and 2015 Brussels agreements and to Ohrid” agreements.

We think that from a number of conversations we have had, we have made clear to the Government of Kosovo that a successful vote needs further steps to ensure this two-thirds majority. However, these necessary steps have not yet been taken and you have seen statements also by the QUINT partners that such a necessary step may be and should be sending this draft status to the Constitutional Court. And in this context, I think that Kosovo's application for membership has not yet been put in order,”, Rohde told A2. CNN.

Rohde further said it is not about Kosovo's lack of membership in the KiE, but according to him, Germany will be a sure vote, while adding that the requirement linking Kosovo's membership in KiE is a surprise to Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

And the prime minister, as I and others have publicly said, has had conversations with political leaders, with President Macro, with Chancellor Scholz. He met with my foreign minister on April 26th, and we have always, all of us, given Kosovo clear expectations for this” theme.

So, it's not a surprise. And we said publicly, a failed vote would be a disaster. So we want Kosovo in the Council of Europe and we want a safe majority. And to ensure it, you have to take some positive steps, which I just explained to”, he said.

He also spoke of the scenario for Kosovo to join the Council of Europe next week, saying a courageous “decision on the part of the government” is needed.

“You can set something on the agenda in a very short period. However, the sooner a bold decision is made on the part of the government, the greater are the chances of having one vote and of having a safe majority, because in politics you have to convince even skeptical”.

And I will repeat, I think it would be Kosovo's greatest foreign policy success in a decade. And, you know, I would like nothing more than to see Kosovo on the Council of Europe as soon as possible”, Rohde said.