Spahiu: Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe depends on the will of member states’ ministers

Political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu emphasized that Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe does not depend exclusively on Pristina, but on the political will of the ministers of the organization’s member states.

Spahiu told Kosovo Online that the question of whether Kosovo could become a member of the Council of Europe without submitting the draft statute of the Community of Serb Municipalities to the Constitutional Court does not depend on Kosovo.

“That depends on the ministers of the Council of Europe. I do not know whether they could make such a decision or not, that is their political will. It can happen, but at this moment I cannot say anything with certainty,” he explained.

Spahiu also referred to the fact that the condition of submitting the draft statute of the CSM had previously been mentioned by the former EU envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, but that in the meantime a new envoy has arrived, which, he adds, could influence the further process.

“I cannot know what strategy the new representative has for implementing the agreement between Pristina and Belgrade. Perhaps that condition was set in order to facilitate an agreement, and perhaps it is precisely what is holding it back,” Spahiu concluded, noting that the new representative may have a different approach to resolving the issue.

According to him, the issue of establishing the CSM is closely linked to the Brussels Agreement, and that its establishment would, as he says, effectively mean mutual recognition between Belgrade and Pristina.

“That would de facto and de jure mean recognition of Kosovo,” Spahiu said.