Kosovo moved a step closer to joining the Council of Europe (CoE), the continent's human rights watchdog, on Monday, a prospect opposed by Serbia which is totally against international recognition of its former province.
The Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers has forwarded Kosovo's application for membership to the Council's 46-State Parliamentary Assembly for an opinion, officials told French news agency AFP.
The Parliamentary Assembly will give its opinion at an unspecified date, they said. The next meeting of the Assembly's bureau is scheduled for Friday.
Kosovo's Foreign Minister, Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz, welcomed the Committee of Ministers' decision, noting on Facebook that the body had approved the nomination by the necessary two-thirds majority. She described this as "a historic step," perhaps the "most important" one since Kosovo's independence, but added that the accession process was "long and difficult."
Kosovo applied for membership in May 2022, shortly after Russia was expelled from the Council following its invasion of Ukraine. The departure of Moscow, Belgrade's historic ally, was expected to make it easier for Pristina to acquire a two-thirds majority.
"We will vote against the accession of so-called Kosovo to the Council of Europe," Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told reporters.
"This day will remain a day of shame for the Council of Europe," his foreign minister, Ivica Dacic, was quoted by state television as saying.
Belgrade has never recognised Pristina's independence, declared in 2008, a decade after a deadly war between Albanian independence fighters and Serbian forces. Neither has Moscow or Beijing, which deprives Kosovo of the possibility of joining the UN.
Update
As previously reported, a high-level meeting took place in Brussels on 27 February when the leaders of Kosovo and Serbia accepted an EU proposal on an “Agreement on the path to normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia”. Although it was never signed between them, the understanding was that they would implement it in good faith.
Among others, the agreement includes a paragraph stating that Serbia will not object to Kosovo’s membership in any international organisation. Since then, however, the implementation has run into obstacles and the European Commission has been forced to lower its expectations, claiming that the formal signature of the agreement is irrelevant.
At the Commission’s press conference today (25 April), the spokespersons took note of Serbia’s vote in the CoE but declined to reply to direct questions as to whether Serbia’s opposition against Kosovo joining the CoE was consistent with the agreement or its spirit.
EU continues to voice its opinion that all articles in the agreement should be fully implemented but it will be done gradually, in a step-by-step process where each side needs to do something to get something in return, according to Peter Stano, the EU lead spokesperson on foreign affairs.
In another positive development for Kosovo, the European Commission announced last week that passport holders from Kosovo will be allowed to travel to the EU without a visa, for maximum 90 days in any 180-day period. This will become a reality on 1 January 2024 at the latest and follows an agreement between the European Parliament and the Council on a proposal by the Commission.
Visa-free travel brings key benefits for citizens on both sides, strengthening further the EU relations with Kosovo. Kosovo has consistently fulfilled all benchmarks and continuously shown its commitment, according to the Commission. With this decision, all Western Balkan partners will soon have visa-free access to the EU.
Update: The article has been updated to include the discussion at the Commission's press conference on Tuesday and the EU decision on visa-free travel for Kosovo.
