Pantic Pilja: Strong pressure on Bakoyannis regarding Kosovo's admission 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, emphasizes that everyone was surprised by the severity with which the rapporteur for Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe, Dora Bakoyannis, defended her views on Kosovo's accession to this international organization, and despite having great credibility, there is strong pressure on her to soften her assessment, Novosti reports.

"She clearly stated that without meeting three conditions, she would not give a positive opinion. There is pressure to resolve this issue in May when the Committee of Ministers meets. Bakoyannis invoked her political credibility and rich political career and experience, so I expect her to remain consistent with her views regardless of the pressure. I believe it won't be easy for her," Pantic Pilja said.

Despite Kosovo not meeting any condition under the organization's statute, Biljana Pantic  Pilja emphasizes that some countries are willing to disregard all postulates and principles of international law just to become members of the Council of Europe.

"That's exactly why I say that I don't think it will be easy for her because countries that recognize the false state of Kosovo are doing everything they can to conclude the admission procedure by May. Bakoyannis said that if there was progress and the conditions were met, she would inform the Secretariat of the Political Committee to schedule an extraordinary meeting. Otherwise, the regular meeting should be held when the spring plenary session begins on April 15th. The procedure is such that if the rapporteur gives a positive opinion at the Political Committee, the resolution comes to the plenum for discussion and voting, and then to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, who make the final decision. We continue to fight as the Serbian delegation, and we are absolutely against the admission of so-called Kosovo to the CoE because it would be a violation of international law and a unique example of one entity becoming a member of this organization," Pantic Pilja said.

At a recent meeting of the CoE's Political Committee in Paris, Bakoyannis set three conditions for Pristina.

One is the verdict of the Constitutional Court in the case of the Visoki Decani Monastery and the return of land, the second is the establishment of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, and the third is the expropriation of land in municipalities with a majority population from which they should refrain.