The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said on Saturday that “efforts were made on Friday to resolve everything” for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, before the meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of this organization this month, where it will be voted for Kosovo’s membership or not.
The Serbian leader said that “the attempts were prevented thanks to the intervention of the two countries”.
“They tried yesterday, before the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, to finish everything, and thanks to the intervention of the two countries, this did not happen,” Vučić told reporters in Belgrade on Saturday.
Vučić did not explain the “efforts”, nor did he indicate which countries “prevented him”.
He said that on April 7 he will travel to Paris, where he will meet with the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
“We are facing difficult days regarding the decisions related to Pristina’s membership in the Council of Europe, in the United Nations, with severe pressure from the region, Europe and the world on this issue, but the country must develop and to move forward”, Vučić said.
The Parliamentary Assembly is expected to vote on Kosovo’s membership towards the middle of this month, and if it gives the green light, then the Council of Europe’s Council of Ministers must give the final word in May.
Serbia has continued to oppose Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, although it is required not to oppose the neighboring country’s membership in any international organization in accordance with the Basic Agreement that the parties reached in the dialogue mediated by the EU in February of 2023.
The EU says that the Framework Agreement is legally binding on Kosovo and Serbia.
Vučić asked the Serbian Government on April 4 to form a team to lobby against Kosovo’s possible membership in the Council of Europe.
Kosovo applied in May 2022 for membership in the Council of Europe.
The Council of Europe is the leading organization in Europe in the field of human rights.
46 countries are part of it, including 27 member countries of the European Union and all the countries of the region.
