Kosovo Takes a Crucial Step to Join Council of Europe

Immediately after the Ohrid agreement was reached (though crucially – not signed), Kosovo’s membership got a boost when the CoE Committee of Ministers endorsed Kosovo’s application and processed it to the next formal step, consideration by the CoE Parliamentary Assembly.

The CoE Parliamentary Assembly appointed the former Greek minister Dora Bakoyanis as Rapporteur on Kosovo’s rule of law and other preconditions for its application to pass the final hurdle and a full vote at the PA.

This is where an old legal dispute between the Serbian Orthodox Church monastery in Deçan and the local authorities became extraordinarily important, a sine qua non for Kosovo’s membership perspective.

Since 2016, successive Kosovo governments refused to implement decisions by the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court awarding the monastery the right over 24 hectares of land. Prime minister Kurti’s party was adamant they will not relent on “giving the land to Monastery” and called the judges of the Constitutional Court as “enablers of Milosevic decisions”. As late as 2022, both the Speaker of Parliament Glauk Konjufca as well as Minister of Environment Liburn Aliu rejected any notion to accept the rulings of the courts.

Yet, enormous Western pressure combined with the realities of the working agenda of Council of Europe ensured PM Kurti bites the bullet and today, he basically ordered the Cadastral Agency of Kosovo to transfer the disputed land to the Monastery of Deçan. This happened on the margins of the 3-day visit by US Envoy Gabriel Escobar. The issue of respecting property rights of Decani monks has been high on agenda of the US administration, even entering talking points of President Biden and Secretary Blinken throughout last 8 years.

What happens next?

Special Rapporteur Bakoyannis will report to the Committee on Equality of Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe in forthcoming days. A positive reaction may be expected. Another Committee on legal affairs already had a note that there are no legal hindrances for Kosovo to become a member of CoE. If Committees don’t block the process, a full vote may be expected in the Parliamentary Assembly by mid-April. If two thirds of MPs represented there vote positively, the issue goes the highest executive body, Committee of Ministers who can vote on Kosovo’s accession already in mid-May, at the annual meeting in Strasbourg. If there’s a good will, there’s a path for Kosovo to become the newest member of CoE already this spring.

The only dilemma is whether the two other notable elements in the Bakkoyanis report of February 2024 become hard conditions, namely the issues of the Association of Serbian Majority Municipalities as well as the issue of land expropriation in the Serbian-populated municipalities. Neither of these issue are really legal criteria, but both have been points of contention between Western supporters of Kosovo and Kurti Government.

Kosovo citizens will benefit enormously from CoE membership. Kosovo’s diplomacy is currently at its nadir due to a host of misunderstandings and miscommunications, and Kosovo’s government is currently under EU sanctions due to its perceived negative role in escalating the crisis in Kosovo.

Membership of Kosovo to CoE will bring multiple benefits, from access to top human rights court to joining dozens of international conventions. There will be one added benefit: European Broadcasting Union, which organizes Eurovision song contest, is only open to members of Council of Europe. Kosovo’s accession to CoE will open path to membership to EBU and potential participation of Kosovo musicians to the 2025 competition. Considering the global reach of some of Kosovo-born music stars like Dua Lipa and Rita Ora, it is not quite farfetched that Kosovo’s path to Eurivision glory may have been unlocked by the agricultural needs of some isolated monks in the medieval monastery of western Kosovo.

Petrit Selimi is a former Foreign Minister of Republic of Kosovo.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of BIRN.