Pantic-Pilja on the vote of the PACE Political Committee on Kosovo: Serbia's maneuvering space narrowed

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 Serbia's maneuvering space is very limited ahead of tomorrow's meeting of the PACE Political Committee, where a vote will be held on Dora Bakoyannis's report recommending Kosovo's accession to this organization.

"Bakoyannis will present her report and the position, which, unfortunately, she has changed compared to two weeks ago. There will be discussions, and a vote is expected, with two-thirds of the votes needed to adopt the report. Considering that neither the Russian delegation nor the Azerbaijani delegation has been in PACE since January, Serbia's maneuvering space is quite limited in terms of the number of our friends in PACE," Pilja notes.

In addition to recommending Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe, rapporteur Bakoyannis stated in the media that its membership would give the Serbian community and all other minorities in Kosovo the right to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, which she believes would provide them with better protection. However, Pantic-Pilja says this is a very hypocritical statement.

She recalls that just two weeks ago, Bakoyannis repeatedly stated that she would give a positive opinion only when Kosovo fulfilled three conditions regarding the return of land to the Visoki Decani Monastery as per the Constitutional Court's ruling from 2016, the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities as per the Brussels Agreement, and the expropriation of land. However, the only thing Pristina has done in the meantime is to finally implement the Constitutional Court's decision.

"That was enough for Bakoyannis to change her position now. We always emphasize that Articles 3 and 4 of the Council of Europe Statute state that only a state that respects rights and human and minority freedoms can be a member. We constantly emphasize that Kosovo is not a state, but they are trying to suppress that fact, while we refer to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 that Kosovo is a southern Serbian province and that no entity can become a member of the Council of Europe. There is no respect but constant violation of human rights, especially the rights of Serbs, but they don't want to hear that. So, her statement, 'Now you can say that to the European Court of Human Rights,' even though the report doesn't mention all these violations of human rights, is very hypocritical," Pantic-Pilja says.

Regarding the letter sent to Bakoyannis by the president, prime minister, and speaker of the Kosovo Assembly, pledging to respect all provisions of the Brussels Agreement and its Ohrid annex, including the formation of the Community of Serb Municipalities, the head of the Serbian Parliament's permanent delegation to PACE says it carries no weight because it should have been fulfilled 11 years ago.

"That is a thank-you letter to Bakoyannis, PACE, and everyone else who, through a very rushed and strange procedure, wants to admit so-called independent Kosovo as a member of the Council of Europe," Pantic-Pilja notes.

Maja Vukicevic, head of the Montenegrin delegation to PACE, as announced, will not vote for Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe despite Podgorica recognizing Kosovo. Pantic-Pilja says that just as there are positive examples like this, there are also negative ones.

"I want to thank the head of the Montenegrin delegation, who has consistently shown that she is on our side, that is, on the side of respecting international law. But we also have negative examples. For example, a member from Romania, which has not recognized Kosovo, advocates for Kosovo's independence and supports its membership in the Council of Europe. Each member of PACE votes according to their personal discretion, and two-thirds of the votes of present members in PACE are enough for a positive opinion, after which the final decision is made by the Committee of Ministers in May," the head of the Serbian delegation to PACE says.

As she points out, this extraordinary meeting of the Political Committee "was scheduled hastily" for March 27 to have everything ready for the plenary session in April, possibly on April 18, and after the vote in PACE, Kosovo's request goes to the Committee of Ministers for a decision.

"They want this to be a kind of celebration of the 75 years of existence of the Council of Europe, a democratic institution that violates all the principles on which it is based," Pantic-Pilja says.

Regarding whether the positions of Council of Europe members can be influenced by the announcement of a possible withdrawal of Serbia from the Council of Europe if Kosovo is admitted to this organization, she says it is evident that they are uncomfortable with that announcement.

"They think we're bluffing. Because it's not easy to explain why a country is withdrawing from the Council of Europe on its own. But they have shown that they do not respect any democratic principles. They expelled Azerbaijan in January, now they will admit Kosovo... If Kosovo is admitted, I expect a reaction from the state of Serbia," Pantic-Pilja says.