In Strasbourg, during the proceedings of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Lulzim Basha spoke on behalf of the EPP parliamentary group.

Basha spoke about the challenges facing Europe as a result of conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East.

He used the opportunity to draw attention to the situation in the Balkans, where authoritarian leaders can exploit regional tensions. Basha called for bringing to justice the terrorists who caused Banjska a year ago and the necessity to hold responsible the inspirers and organizers in Belgrade.

Basha’s full speech:

I would like to start by congratulating the president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, as the rapporteur for this progress report for the period from June to now, but I also want to ask the attention of the Assembly regarding the steps that have been taken by the Assembly, but which have not yet been taken by the Committee of Ministers.

The war in Ukraine continues to rage. Unspeakable horror, attacks on civilians and children, attacks on the children’s hospital in Kiev, and other war crimes continue to occur.

This Assembly has been at the forefront of proposing proportionate measures to address Russia’s unprovoked aggression.

The establishment of the international tribunal for the crime of aggression is one of these measures. We all want and hope there is progress in this direction before it is too late.

An important issue is the compensation mechanism, which will enable hundreds of billions of Russian assets, assets of the Russian Federation, frozen in Europe and elsewhere, to be confiscated and transferred to Ukraine. Undoubtedly, this measure is proportionate and overdue, especially considering Russia’s de-escalation of crimes and destruction in Ukraine and Russia’s rhetoric. As Putin threatens nuclear weapons, we must respond decisively. Therefore, I hope that the Committee of Ministers will not delay the consideration of this unanimous proposal, this unanimous resolution and this unanimous recommendation.

The world is also facing another escalating conflict in the Middle East. We have seen innocent Israelis, Palestinians and now Lebanese killed in this conflict. The risk that more civilians will be harmed increases by the day. Diplomacy must prevail over weapons and a peaceful solution over terror and aggression. At the same time, we recognize the unfortunate reality that conflicts often affect innocent civilians. While Israel, like any other democracy, takes great care to minimize harm to non-combatants, it is essential to remember that the real culprits are terrorist organizations that use civilians as shields and exploit the chaos they create.

Our focus must remain on supporting Israel’s right to defend itself, while seeking to prevent the loss of innocent lives caused by the actions of these extremist groups.

These conflicts have an impact on each of our countries. In the Balkans, autocrats are trying to take advantage of the situation to further destroy the rule of law and revive old conflicts.

More than a year has passed since the terrorist attack in Banjska. More than a year has passed since one of our colleagues, Mr. Knut Abraham, has presented a proposal signed by a sufficient number of members of this Assembly for an investigation of this act.

Therefore, I call on the Assembly to proceed without delay in this direction as well.