Pilja: Letters sent to all delegations to reconsider Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe

The head of the Serbian delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Biljana Pantić Pilja, stated that she has sent letters to all the heads of delegations in the institution, requesting them to reconsider the proposal for Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe ahead of the upcoming debate on this issue before the PACE, as reported by RTV.

Pilja mentioned that on Tuesday, the Serbian delegation will once again remind that Pristina has not formed the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities (CSM) and has not resolved the issue of land expropriation. She will also point out the security situation in Kosovo and present it as a counterargument.

She added that according to the organization's own statutes, admitting Kosovo to the Council of Europe would violate two articles.

"Article 3 and Article 4 stipulate that any European country can become a member of the organization. Therein lies the problem, as Kosovo is not a European country, there is a clear UN Resolution 1244, and there are countries that are members of the CoE and do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state, which immediately contradicts Article 3," explained Pilja.

She also mentioned that Article 4 states that any European country where the rule of law prevails, and where human and minority rights and freedoms are respected, should become a member.

"What rights are we talking about when you have the Serbian population in Kosovo and Metohija facing extermination under the regime of Albin Kurti?" she emphasized.

Pilja specified for Tanjug that she sent letters to representatives of countries that have recognized and those that have not recognized Kosovo.

"It’s not a uniform letter; it’s specifically tailored for each, and I asked them to remain consistent with international law, not to violate international law norms, and primarily I also drew attention to Pristina's obligations under the Brussels Agreement regarding the CSM," said Pilja.

She added that she warned in the letter that if Kosovo enters the CoE without establishing the CSM, there is a danger that the CSM will never be formed, which would also affect further dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, and of course, the Serbian population in Kosovo.

This morning, President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic sent letters to European leaders, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and French President Emmanuel Macron, and Pilja said it is important as it precedes the Committee of Ministers' meeting of the CoE where a final decision on Pristina's admission is expected to be made in mid-May.

She explained that this is the next step and she believes that President Vucic will use all his contacts to influence European officials.

"The point of all this is the next step, the Committee of Ministers, where there are some chances and I also believe that President Vucic has provided detailed reports. In any case, I believe that he, due to his friendly and personal contacts, will be able to influence some of the European officials for sure. To help us before the upcoming Committee of Ministers meeting and maybe even keep it off the agenda," emphasized Pilja.

Kosovo's candidacy for membership in the CoE was accepted at a session in April last year.

At that time, Pristina's candidacy was supported by 33 of the total 46 CoE member states.

Seven countries were against, five were abstaining, while only one did not vote.

At the end of March this year, the Political Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe gave Pristina the green light for full membership in this international organization.

With 31 votes in favor, four against, and one abstention, the Committee approved the opinion of the rapporteur for Kosovo, Dora Bakoyannis, who recommended that the Council of Europe invite Pristina to become a member, without additional preconditions.

The next step will be voting on the report before the full Parliamentary Assembly on Tuesday, April 16.

The final decision on Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe will be made by the Committee of Ministers at a session scheduled to be held from May 16 to 17 in Strasbourg.