PACE recommends CoE membership for so-called Kosovo

STRASBOURG - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said on Tuesday evening it had adopted a recommendation to grant CoE membership to the so-called Kosovo, "while deciding to monitor its fulfilment of an extensive list of commitments and obligations as from its accession."

In a statement, PACE said establishment of a Community of Serb Municipalities would be an "important step" to ensure the protection of the rights of Kosovo-Metohija Serbs and "should feature in the Committee of Ministers’ future consideration of Kosovo’s application to accede to the Council of Europe, as a post-accession commitment."

"The Assembly welcomed as 'a major breakthrough' the implementation of the (Pristina) Constitutional Court’s judgment in the case of the Visoki Decani monastery, which it said was 'a tangible sign of the commitment of the government to act in full accordance with the rule of law, irrespective of political considerations,'" the statement said.

"Acknowledging the 'unprecedented circumstances' of the application, given that a number of Council of Europe member states do not recognise Kosovo as a state, the Assembly called for 'diplomacy, dialogue and compromise'. It invited the Committee of Ministers to ensure that Kosovo’s membership was 'without prejudice to individual member states’ positions as regards the statehood of Kosovo.'"

"Membership would also help Kosovo to 'address outstanding challenges and matters of concern', the parliamentarians pointed out, including the gap between normative standards and their effective implementation, the need to better protect the rights of non-majority communities, and fostering a climate conducive to trust, reconciliation and inclusion," the statement said.