Simonovic Bratic: We have assurances from Quint representatives that Kosovo cannot be placed on the CoE's agenda until the CSM is formed

A member of Serbia’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), Dunja Simonovic Bratic, told Kosovo Online that Serbian parliamentarians, in discussions with representatives of Quint countries in PACE, received assurances that until the Community of Serb Municipalities is formed as stipulated, the issue of Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe cannot be brought to the agenda.

“We hope they will stand by what they told us and that, just like last year, Kosovo’s request will be rejected,” Simonovic Bratic said.

Ahead of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers session scheduled for May 13 and 14, where Kosovo's membership request is currently not on the agenda, Simonovic Bratic said that political representatives from Pristina have been very active on this matter and have intensified pressure, viewing this period as a final opportunity before the Committee meets.

Considering that some countries, such as Germany, believe it would be sufficient for the Kosovo government to merely send the European draft statute of the CSM to the Constitutional Court for a positive decision on Kosovo's admission, Simonovic Bratic emphasized that even if this were to happen before the May 13 session, it would not mean that the CSM would actually be implemented in practice.

“A year ago, it was said that Kosovo’s accession to the Council of Europe was nearly certain, yet it didn’t happen. A year has passed, and we hope the same outcome will occur this time. If the Quint countries we spoke with maintain the position they conveyed to us, then others will likely respond similarly, just like last time. That gives us hope that we might once again succeed in preventing Kosovo from becoming a member of the Council of Europe. But, of course, we must be prepared for every scenario, even the ones we don’t like,” Simonovic Bratic said.

However, she pointed out that following the Committee of Ministers session, a meeting of the PACE Political Committee will be held at the end of May in Crete, organized by Dora Bakoyannis, who was the rapporteur for Kosovo in PACE and who recommended its admission to the Council of Europe. If the issue of Kosovo's full membership is not on the agenda of the Committee of Ministers’ meeting, Simonovic Bratic warned that the Political Committee meeting would represent a new opportunity for Kosovo to attain special guest status within the Council of Europe.

“We also drew the attention of parliamentarians in the PACE plenary to the fact that the so-called state of Kosovo signed a military agreement with Albania and Croatia, which contributes to instability and suggests bad intentions, simply by grouping together, given that Kosovo is not a recognized state by the United Nations and therefore cannot enter into any agreements, let alone military ones. If the goal is to have stability in the Western Balkans and Europe as a whole, this is not something that contributes to that stability,” she concluded.