With Kosovo approaching membership in the Council of Europe (CoE), Serbian President Aleksandër Vucic seems to be unable to “sleep peacefully”. Belgrade does not recognize Kosovo’s independence and has lobbied intensively to keep the new country out of international organizations. Despite this, Kosovo’s candidacy for membership in the Council of Europe was accepted last year and the decision on whether Kosovo will be accepted will be taken in May. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Serbian president has admitted that “difficult days” await Serbia, without specifying what it is about, saying that he will talk more about everything “in the coming days”. Now, one by one, his “nightmares” are coming true and he seems powerless to change the situation. What he has been trying to stop for years is now not only happening, but happening at a pace that Belgrade can’t keep up with. However, as always, Serbia will try to put “sticks under the wheels” of Kosovo on the European road.
“War Team”
Yesterday, as Serbian media reports, Vucic ordered the Government to urgently form a team that will lead the campaign against Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, because the final decision on this is expected on May 16 or 17. According to him, the chances are very small. He advised not to use only the argument that Kosovo is not a state. According to him, the formation of the Association is a condition without which no one can enter organizations dealing with human rights. He suggested to use this argument and prepare a non-paper with all the arguments and send it to everyone. “Despite the strong supporters of the independence of Pristina, I still think we have a small chance and therefore I ask you to fight harder than ever”, said Vu?i? in a special session of the Government of Serbia. He added that this is of crucial importance for Serbia.
Leaving KiE
If Kosovo joins the Council of Europe, Vu?i? has warned of the possibility of Serbia’s departure from this organization. Experts have different views on the possible consequences of such a decision. Zoran Milivojevic, a diplomat, tells “Blic” that if Kosovo joins the Council of Europe, Serbia’s membership in that body would become meaningless. The admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe would be contrary to the Constitution of Serbia and Resolution 1244. If Serbia did not leave the Council of Europe after that, it would mean that it had agreed with it. On the other hand, Sre?ko Djukic, former ambassador to Belarus, sees no benefit from Serbia’s exit from the Council of Europe, but “only harm”.
The last hope
“It is possible that some EU member states that have recognized the independence of Kosovo, will not be positive about the issue of Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe”, Vucic said. He added that Hungary is not the only one. In Paris, on March 27, the Serbian media reported that against the proposal for the Republic of Kosovo to join the Council of Europe were: Maja Vukucevic from Montenegro, the representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Snjezana Novakovic, as well as two representatives of Serbia, Biljana Pantic Pilja and Dunja Simonovic Bratic. The representative of Greece abstained, prompting harsh reactions from Serbia, even accusing her of treason. Also, five EU countries, Spain, Slovakia, Romania, Greece and Cyprus, do not recognize Kosovo, so they too can vote against in May, doing “honor” to Serbia.
Postponement of elections
Therefore, Vucic said that the Speaker of the Assembly of Serbia, Ana Brnabic, should continue working on the implementation of ODIHR’s recommendations and continue to offer compromise and talks on the conditions of the elections. Vucic said the government should continue to offer a compromise and that those who think they can achieve their goal with ultimatums, “let them continue.” “You hold the elections in a democratic atmosphere, but until May 17 there are no elections for you until this ends with the Council of Europe and the acceptance of Kosovo,” said Vucic. According to him, there is no campaign until May 16 or 17, and twenty days will be enough for that.
Source link : https://sot.com.al/english/rajoni/kosova-nje-hap-larg-anetaresimit-ne-kie-vucic-mobilizon-qeverine-aktivizo-i656026
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Publish date : 2024-04-05 04:50:02
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