Filipovic: Kosovo uses the momentum to raise the issue of CoE membership, CSM still an obligation

Former Serbian ambassador to the Council of Europe, Dragana Filipovic, told Kosovo Online that the issue of Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe is always on the agenda, and that Pristina is now using the momentum of having a formed government and a foreign minister, but that this is a political issue that will be difficult to place on the agenda of a meeting of ministers of member states, because Kosovo has not fulfilled its obligation to establish the Community of Serb Municipalities.

Filipovic said that the reason for Kosovo’s renewed activity regarding membership in the Council of Europe in the recent period is political.

“If we take into account that, according to the European Parliament’s report on the state of democracy, within this year’s reports also prepared by the European Commission for all those in the EU accession process, it was concluded that last year was a lost year for Pristina due to major internal problems and political tensions, the inability to elect a government, and now also a president, as well as repeated elections. I think they are now using this momentum, when they do have a formed government and a foreign minister, to raise again this issue, which is in fact constantly on their agenda, because the authorities in Pristina have a strong desire for international subjectivity,” Filipovic said.

As she added, membership in the Council of Europe would be of great importance for Kosovo because it would open other doors as well.

“In some aspects, that international subjectivity has already been recognized, for example by certain financial organizations, even the Development Bank, and they have been a member of the Venice Commission since 2014, but membership in the Council of Europe would be a significant political issue, it would carry that political weight because it would open the door to other important international organizations that Kosovo still cannot access, especially the United Nations, which is key for them in order to be recognized at that level,” Filipovic stated.

According to her, Kosovo was close to membership in the Council of Europe, but did not meet the condition of submitting the draft statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities to the Constitutional Court for review.

As she adds, the issue of membership in that organization has now been raised again because the end of Moldova’s presidency is approaching, while Monaco will take over. She notes that a large number of ministers from member states will attend the handover meeting, making it easier to secure a simple majority at such a gathering.

However, Filipovic stresses that Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe is an important political issue. In her opinion, it will not be placed on the agenda, not only because the conditions have not been met, but also because Pristina continues to ignore its obligation from the Brussels Agreement to establish the Community of Serb Municipalities and to respect minority rights from the Declaration of Human Rights.

“The Council of Europe currently has many more important issues for its future. It is not good to place on the agenda an issue that would lead to debate, divisions and so on,” our interlocutor said.

As she pointed out, Kosovo has revived this issue also because in Pristina they believe that Serbia is under pressure from the EU, and because they want to use the arrival of the new EU envoy for dialogue, Peter Sorensen, to marginalize the demands previously set by former EU envoy Miroslav Lajcak.

“What I think Kosovo is also doing now is attempting a total marginalization of Lajcak and relativizing everything he did, along with claims that he imposed certain political solutions and demands, which is not true. He only conveyed what was happening and what was being agreed in Brussels,” she added.

Filipovic emphasized that the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities is still mentioned as an obligation of Kosovo, and that this unfulfilled obligation cannot be easily overlooked.

“It is still an obligation that is mentioned both in the European Union, in documents and in communication. The same applies to the Council of Europe. For that to be bypassed, there would have to be some higher interest of both the Council of Europe and the European Union. But this is one of the fundamental rights. If you look at it, it would be the legal framework in which representatives of the Serbian minority could exercise everything essential for their lives in Kosovo, their minority rights, human rights and so on,” Filipovic said.

As she stressed, Serbia must keep the issue of establishing the Community of Serb Municipalities high on the agenda.

“In order to prevent this, because it is completely clear that the offensive, this so-called creeping recognition of Kosovo in international organizations, is constantly on the agenda regardless of who is in power in Pristina, I think that from our side we must do everything we can to keep this issue high on the agenda and to constantly demand that this obligation from 13 years ago, which Kosovo undertook, be fulfilled, not just talked about, but consistently demanded through all diplomatic means,” Filipovic stated.