EU says Serbia is violating Kosovo Agreement with its behavior in CoE

2025-03-07 18:16:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The European Union (EU) said on Friday that Serbia, with its behavior in the Council of Europe, is violating the 2023 Ohrid Agreement, which, among other things, requires Belgrade not to hinder Kosovo's membership in any international organization.

Kosovo faced another setback this week at the Council of Europe (CoE), as its request to be a special guest in the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy of the CoE Parliamentary Assembly was removed from the agenda on Wednesday.

Serbia, through its delegation to this Committee, but also through the Speaker of the Parliament, Ana Brnabi?, was proud of this achievement, calling it a great victory for Serbia in protecting national interests.

Asked about this, an EU spokesperson said on Friday that Serbia is clearly violating its obligations under the Ohrid Agreement, reached between it and Kosovo in 2023.

"Serbia's admission to the Council of Europe is a clear violation of Serbia's obligations under the Ohrid Agreement," says the EU spokesperson, underlining that this obligation is mentioned in Article 4 of the Agreement, which talks about non-objection to membership in international organizations.

Serbia has, on several occasions in the past, lobbied against Kosovo's membership in international organizations, although the Agreement reached with the facilitation of the European Union clearly states that it cannot do so.

The agreement has not been signed, but the EU insists that it is legally binding on the parties and must be implemented in full.

Kosovo failed to join the Council of Europe in early 2024 because it was conditioned on the creation of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo. The Association is also an obligation for Kosovo under this Agreement.

Last year, Serbia formed a working group to coordinate the activities of state authorities against Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe.

The Council of Europe is a leading organization in the protection of human rights. Possible membership would help Kosovo, among other things, in the areas of the rule of law and the fight against corruption./ REL