Prishtina, 8 May 2024
Honorable colleagues of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo,
Deputy Prime Minister Bislimi, ministers, and deputy ministers,
Honorable citizens,
In September 2022, at the request of the Irish Presidency of the Committee of Ministers, the Legal Department of the Council of Europe gave a positive opinion on Kosovo’s membership application, stating that there is no legal impediment for Kosovo to become a full member, according to Article 4 of the Statute of the Council of Europe. That is, a European state.
Starting from September 2022, the Republic of Kosovo has entered a period of evaluation of its constitution, legal system, and minority rights by various bodies of the Council of Europe.
In November 2023, following the fact-finding mission in Kosovo and detailed analyses, the prominent lawyers published their report, emphasizing that Kosovo meets all the standards to become a member of the Council of Europe. Moreover, in the case of the Constitution, they stated that it exceeds international standards.
In March 2024, rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis disseminated her report, confirming that Kosovo, after implementing the Constitutional Court’s Decision on the issue of the Decan Monastery, has fulfilled all the prerequisites for membership and should be invited to become a full member of the Council of Europe, without any additional conditions.
In April 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, with a strong vote of 82%, with 131 in favor and 29 against, recommended the Committee of Ministers to invite Kosovo to become a full member of the organization.
On the one hand, Kosovo is progressing year by year in indexes of democracy, rule of law, judicial reform, civil liberties, and political rights, as evaluated by prestigious independent international institutions. On the other hand, we have a legal system with advanced rights for minorities and a Constitution that has incorporated unconditionally the obligations arising from Council of Europe instruments, such as the European Convention on Human Rights, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and the Istanbul Convention. They have made it easier for us to successfully pass through all stages of accession to the Council of Europe.
After all this journey, followed by continuous progress in the field of human rights, democracy, and the rule of law, and positive evaluations from the Council of Europe itself, in recent weeks we have faced a new condition that has nothing to do with the membership standards of this organization. According to the requirement for the implementation of a Constitutional Court decision, a requirement that falls within the rule of law pillar within the Council of Europe, we have heard that there are capitals that are now conditioning the finalization of the accession process by submitting a document to the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.
This document, brought to us by the Special Representative of the European Union for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, together with the diplomatic advisors of the QUINT states, was not accepted on 26 October of last year. Kosovo has offered for this document to become part of the Brussels Basic Agreement Package and the Ohrid Implementation Annex, which is an integral part of it, and it is signed to become legally binding and enforceable. However, it was rejected by Serbia. Refusal is not acceptance. Refusal is a refusal. If the agreement package was accepted and signed in Brussels on 26 October 2023, only then could that draft statute be sent to the Kosovo Constitutional Court.
The draft statutes of Lajčák and other envoys of the Quint, as a document, failed to be formalized after being rejected. As such it is a non-document, in other words a non-paper. The Government of Kosovo cannot send documents that have not been accepted and are not official to the Constitutional Court. This demand towards us has been and remains absurd.
Nevertheless, three times during the process, an attempt was made to include this request as a prerequisite for membership. Twice in the Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy, on 27 March in Paris and on 16 April in Strasbourg, as well as during the General Assembly meeting on the same day, but all three rounds were rejected! The request, which is being postponed as a condition for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, is not only non-principled and non-valuable, but it has already been rejected three times by the Council of Europe itself.
Kosovo has applied to become a member of the Council of Europe because we believe in and embrace the fundamental values that this organization defends and promotes: democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
On 22 March this year, 2024, as we were marking the third anniversary of the election of our Government, together with the President of Kosovo, the Speaker of the Assembly, and myself as the Prime Minister of the Republic, the three heads of state institutions at the highest level, we issued a letter of guarantee with our commitments for the future, following our accession, exactly as requested. Of course, we cannot say that our highest-level guarantees are not valid. No one can ask for more than that letter.
We anticipated obstacles to membership in this organization from states that have not yet recognized the Republic of Kosovo, but we never imagined that the democratic states, which have been and continue to be supporters of Kosovo’s development and democratization, and were previously with us for liberation and independence, would become obstacles.
Meeting the criteria for membership in the Council of Europe, which received 82% of the votes of the Parliamentary Assembly, 25 years after Serbia’s genocide against Kosovo and 16 years after declaring independence, is a moment of celebration of achievements and a moment of pride for every citizen and all allies, friends, and supporters of Kosovo.
The lack of support is regrettable. It will not aid the normalization of dialogue and does not contribute to democracy, peace, and security.
Dear citizens,
Honorable media representatives,
The Government has worked tirelessly and has taken every action to meet the standards, criteria, conditions, and prerequisites to become a full member of the Council of Europe.
We seek a merit-based membership because we believe we deserve membership in the Council of Europe, as we share common values and meet the required standards.
We see membership in this organization especially for the benefits it brings to citizens, particularly for minority communities, by providing access to the European Court of Human Rights. This right and opportunity should not be limited and denied by delaying Kosovo’s membership in this organization.
Allow me to reiterate that the government:
a) Did not accept the draft proposed by envoy Lajçak, as it was rejected on 26 October 2023, and two days before this, I submitted my significant objections to that draft-statute on 24 October, and secondly,
b) The government does not accept conditioning membership in the Council of Europe with the Association. We discuss the normalization of relations with Serbia in Brussels, not in Strasbourg. Article 7 of the Basic Agreement, in connection with Article 10, cannot be excluded from the agreement, cannot be placed at its center, nor above it as an urgent matter.
Dear Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Dear Deputy Prime Minister,
Dear citizens,
Today’s meeting will have more than 20 items. Among the items, we have draft laws, draft regulations, administrative instructions, and other draft-decisions that regulate and address many areas. Starting from our country’s banking activity, through the Bank draft law, to the protection, physical security and administration of classified information through draft regulations sponsored by the Prime Minister’s Office. The to proceed with the establishment of rules and procedures for covering expenses for educational, health services for children with disabilities, and institutional cooperation methods with non-governmental organizations for implementing policies for children’s rights and providing services for child protection. Regarding the latter two, the Ministry of Justice will speak to us a little later.
During the second half of today’s agenda, among other things, we will have the Ministry of Health’s request to allocate a 5000 square meter plot to the Municipality of Gjilan, where the construction of the Medical High School and the Daily Care Facility for the Elderly is planned. We will vote for the final expropriation of properties that are affected by the construction of the Prizren-Tetovo road, specifically the Struzha – access segment to the “Ibrahim Rugova” motorway, a segment crucial for a very important connection for the citizens of our two countries. For addressing, we will also include the final proposal for the expropriation of property for the construction of the “City Center Square” in Rahovec, as well as the expropriation of properties for the project “Creating spaces for traffic and pedestrian mobility” in Prizren.
Finally, we will have the agreement on Air Services with the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through which we aim for more efficient and competitive international air services that boost trade, consumer welfare, and impact economic growth, as well as the draft law for the Air Navigation Service Provider regarding the responsibilities of providing air navigation control services for every flight and activity circulating in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.
Thank you.
Last modified: May 14, 2024