The Government of Kosovo seeks its full membership rights in the Council of Europe and insists that the dialogue for normalizing relations with Serbia should not be mixed together. The Prime Minister stated that "the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia takes place in Brussels and not in Strasbourg" and that the two issues are not related to each other. These statements were made by Kurti during a meeting at his office with the ambassadors of the Quint.
Kurti emphasized that if these two issues are mixed, there will be irreparable damage both to the dialogue and to the Council of Europe, which focuses on the implementation of human rights and the promotion of democratic values.
"These two processes should not be mixed as they do not help each other. If they are mixed, it would cause irreparable damage both to the dialogue in Brussels and to the Council of Europe as an institution for safeguarding and promoting democracy and human rights," the Kosovo government's statement reads.
During the meeting, the ambassadors urged Kosovo to move forward with the establishment of the Association, and this should happen before the Committee of Ministers gives its final word on Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe on May 17th.
"The meeting discussed current developments regarding the accession process to the Council of Europe. The Prime Minister emphasized that so far, three important instances of the Council of Europe (Eminent Jurists, Rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) have confirmed that the Republic of Kosovo has met the standards and criteria for full membership of this organization. The conditions and prerequisites for membership were set out in the report of Rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis, which the Republic of Kosovo fulfills, including the years-long pending decision on the Decani Monastery. Furthermore, as a sign of readiness and progress, the three state leaders sent a letter of assurance to Rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis regarding addressing post-accession issues identified by the Council of Europe.
Kosovo is the most democratic country in the Western Balkans, with an advanced constitution that provides guaranteed and expanded rights for non-majority communities, exceeding international standards, as also acknowledged by the Eminent Jurists of the Council of Europe," and that "with the letter of assurance, Kosovo has fulfilled all the criteria for membership, therefore any other request is inconsistent with the vote of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on April 16th, supported by a majority of 82% (131 against 29)," the Kosovo government's statement says after Kurti's meeting with the ambassadors.
Kurti has reiterated that the issue of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities is part of the Brussels Agreement and should be treated as such.
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