Balkans | Kosovo takes a “historic step” towards joining the Council of Europe

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Balkans |  Kosovo takes a “historic step” towards joining the Council of Europe

Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora announced that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has approved Kosovo’s application to join the Council and referred it to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

The statement indicated that the decision was taken by more than two-thirds of the votes of the member states, and this positive decision came after long and hard work and close cooperation with the member states of the Council of Europe and other allies. The Republic of Kosovo is very grateful to all the countries that voted in the Committee of Ministers and helped other countries vote in the affirmative.” Data included.

The statement also stated that the next step in the process of Kosovo’s membership in the Council is for PACE to prepare an opinion on Kosovo’s application for membership and submit that opinion to the Committee of Ministers which will make the final decision on membership.

The statement, which described Kosovo’s completion of the first phase of its membership as “the final before the final”, stressed that there was still more work to be done before full membership.

The country’s leaders also shared the topic on their social media accounts.

“The flag of the Republic of Kosovo will soon fly proudly among the members of the Council of Europe,” said Kosovo President Fyuza Osmani. Use the phrase.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said, “Our country will be an added value to the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe will add value to democracy, human rights and the rule of law in our country.” He rated it.

Kosovo submitted a formal application for membership of the Council of Europe on May 12, 2022, following Russia’s expulsion from the council.

Reaction from Serbia

Serbia’s Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, responded to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers’ approval of Kosovo’s membership application.

Dacic made a statement to the Serbian press regarding Kosovo’s application to join the Council of Europe.

Defending that the approval of the application is a “disgrace”, Dacic said that this process would also harm the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Expressing that Serbia’s representatives left the hall after the vote, Dacic said, “This decision certainly represents the ‘twilight’ of the Charter of the Council of Europe, because it is the first time that a claim has been made in favor of a state and non-state territory recognized by the United Nations.” He said.

Noting that the countries that voted against the vote were friends of Serbia, Dacic assessed the decision of Greece, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which abstained, as a “disappointment”.

Ivica Dacic stated that Bosnia and Herzegovina’s abstention was “ridiculous”, and said: “Imagine that Republika Srpska (of the two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina) applied for membership. This is utter impudence. On the one hand, they teach us that we affect the territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina.” They are directly involved in the destruction of Serbia’s territorial integrity. Use phrases.

euronews

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