Kovac: Pristina’s request to be a special guest not on the agenda of the PACE political committee

Elvira Kovac, a member of Serbia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), stated that, for now, the request by Kosovo to obtain the status of a special guest is not on the agenda of the Political Committee session of PACE, which will be held in Crete on May 26 and 27, Politika reports.

“There are no such indications in the official agenda—we’ve already received the third version—but we always need to remain cautious and follow developments closely. We will be meeting with PACE President Theodoros Rousopoulos and several committee members, both from countries that do not recognize Kosovo and from those that do,” Kovac told Tanjug.

She added that the Serbian delegation continues to explain that the formation of the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities is the precondition of all preconditions, and that now is certainly not the time for Kosovo to receive any kind of reward.

“We’ve held several discussions with the leadership of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and we must seize every opportunity to speak about the violations of human rights of Serbs and other non-Albanian minorities in Kosovo and Metohija, as this organization’s core value is the protection of human rights,” Kovac emphasized.

She recalled that during a previous session in Paris, there had been a proposal for Kosovo to receive special guest status, but that the Serbian National Assembly’s delegation, with the help of the president of the European People's Party political group, succeeded in having it removed from the agenda.

Also attending the session in Crete will be the rapporteur for Kosovo, Dora Bakoyannis, who—despite Belgrade’s opposition and its warnings that Kosovo continuously violates human rights—recommended in her report adopted by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly that Pristina should become a member.

On this occasion, Serbia’s delegation will exchange views with the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs and take the opportunity to speak with Dora Bakoyannis as well.