Pantic-Pilja: Bakoyannis recommended that Kosovo be admitted to the Council of Europe

The head of the permanent delegation of the Serbian Parliament to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Biljana Pantic-Pilja, says for Kosovo Online that the rapporteur for Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe, Dora Bakoyannis, has recommended that Kosovo be admitted to this organization and that her report will be voted on at an extraordinary meeting of the Political Committee on March 27th.

"She has made a recommendation because, according to them, they have shown a willingness to reach an agreement by registering the land of the Visoki Decani Monastery. So regardless of her previous stance two weeks ago where she clearly stated there were three conditions, she now says this is enough to pass this procedure. As for the rest, now I'm paraphrasing, 'if the so-called Kosovo is admitted, there should be some post-monitoring where they will monitor their further progress and whether they have met other conditions,'" Pantic-Pilja emphasizes.

She states that Bakoyannis's recommendation will be voted on March 27th in the Political Committee at an extraordinary meeting convened outside of all procedures "because they are in a hurry," and this will show the mood of the others. When Bakoyannis presents her opinion, it will be voted on, and if approved, it will then go to the plenary session in April at the PACE.

"Bakoyannis skillfully avoids all of this by stating that this is a recommendation for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and the Committee of Ministers will give the final word in May at their meeting," Pantic-Pilja evaluates.

The same information was shared by Gerald Knaus from the European Stability Initiative, stating on the social network "X" that rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis has recommended in her report the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe.

He also published excerpts from the report where he states that "Bakoyannis recommended that Kosovo be recognized there under the name Kosovo, without mentioning the Republic."

"The report of former Greek Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis: 17. The Assembly, therefore, recommends that the Committee of Ministers: 17.1. Invite Kosovo to become a member of the Council of Europe with the name 'Kosovo'; 17.2. Allocate 3 seats," Knaus wrote.

He added that Kosovo had removed another obstacle so that in May of this year, "as the last democracy on the continent that is not a member of the Council of Europe," it could become a member of the democracy club that turns 75 this April.

"After 12 years, Kosovo has implemented a decision regarding the property of the Orthodox monastery Decani. This was clearly pointed out by the reporter of the Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly Dora Bakoyannis, former Greek Foreign Minister. She recommended membership, and defined conditions for post-membership, which would be good for the rule of law, minorities, for Kosovo itself. But most importantly, there will be strong support as it seems from the Parliamentary Assembly, and then member states in May will be able to follow their lead, based on all the details found, and admit Kosovo. A good thing for the Balkans, for Europe, for the Council of Europe, and a situation where everyone wins," Knaus states.