Rohde: Kosovo faces a difficult task to become a member of the Council of Europe

2024-04-16 22:34:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Germany's ambassador in Pristina, Jorn Rohde, said on Tuesday that Kosovo now faces "a difficult job" to convince the Council of Europe's foreign ministers to approve its membership in this organization in May.

His comments come after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe gave the green light to Kosovo's membership during a plenary session on Tuesday in Strasbourg, and it is now up to ministers to make the final decision.

"Now comes the hard work: in order to secure the necessary two-thirds majority in the Committee of Ministers in May, Kosovo must do what is necessary to convince with merits and actions," Rohde wrote on the X social network.

During the debate in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly on Tuesday, the MPs from France said that it would be good for Kosovo to take the first steps towards the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority before the final vote of the ministers.

The French MP Alain Milon said during the debate that he would vote positively, but that "the report underlines the magnitude of the work that Kosovo must do as the establishment of the Association"... which, according to him, is a step that can be taken before the vote in May.

There have been rumors in diplomatic circles in recent days that Kosovo's membership may not be placed on the agenda of the meeting of ministers in May.

This is also related to the activity of the QUINT countries, the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy, which usually support Kosovo, but now want to see Kosovo move towards the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority. .

The author of the report, Dora Bakoyannis, speaking about the establishment of the Association, said that she considered this as a matter entirely within the internal competences of Kosovo. However, he stated that this has been a cornerstone in the process of dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia led by the EU and that it is not in the hands of the Council of Europe.

Kosovo and Serbia reached agreement on the Association in 2013 and then in 2015 on the principles for its establishment, but Prishtina has not established it./ Rel