Muhaxhiri: Kosovo cannot join the CoE without the CSM; Kosovo government responsible for the failure

Analyst Artan Muhaxhiri emphasizes that the fact that Kosovo still has not become a member of the Council of Europe is the responsibility of the Kosovo government and Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as they played political games at a crucial moment for Kosovo. He adds that Kosovo cannot become part of that organization until it takes steps toward forming the Community of Serb Municipalities.

Muhaxhiri emphasizes that Kosovo had the opportunity to become a part of the Council of Europe but failed to use it.

“The Kosovo government had an excellent opportunity for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, but due to their naivety, the process was unsuccessful. It was a politically mediocre game. They tried to send the draft Statute of the Association prepared by the ‘Friedrich Ebert Foundation’ at the last moment, but that is not the official draft submitted by Lajcak,” Muhaxhiri said.

As he pointed out, it is impossible for Kosovo to become a part of the Council of Europe without submitting the draft of the CSM to the Constitutional Court for review.

“It is shameful that such an opportunity was missed because many factors need to be in harmony to gain membership in such an important institution. I believe the same process will happen next time, that Kosovo will be asked to submit the Draft of the Association to the Constitutional Court. Without that step, there will be no success. It will be a waste of energy if the Kosovo government wants membership without fulfilling the obligations from the dialogue. So, while these words may sound good to voters in Kosovo, in practical terms, it is impossible for Kosovo to gain membership in the Council of Europe without meeting the criteria set by decision-makers,” Muhaxhiri added.

The responsibility for this failure lies with the Kosovo government and Prime Minister Albin Kurti, as Muhaxhiri stressed.

“The responsibility absolutely falls on the Kosovo government. They had the chance – they were only asked to submit the Draft statute to the Constitutional Court, not to start forming the Association. They didn’t even do that. They tried to play political games with the international community and lost. I think it was a very foolish decision to play such political games at such an important moment,” Muhaxhiri concluded.