The Greek MP, Dora Bakoyannis, has justified in the Parliamentary Assembly the report compiled by her that recommends Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, reports Gazeta Express.
Initially, she said that the Parliamentary Assembly of KiE will deal with “a very complicated issue, rich in nuances, which we may never have had before this Assembly”.
She initially said that “from the beginning I have been very adamant that the report will not take a position in terms of citizenship, recognition or non-recognition”
Bakoyannis said that “despite significant shortcomings in implementation, Kosovo’s legal rules are generally in line with international standards”.
She said that the issue of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority is “beyond” her coverage, while she mentioned Kosovo’s movements for the implementation of the judgment on the Deçan Monastery and the issue of the expropriation of Serb properties.
“Kosovo can be seen as a functional, parliamentary democracy with strong guarantees for the independence of the judiciary and basic human rights enshrined in the Constitution,” said Bakoyannis. “The extension of the jurisdiction of the European Court towards Kosovo would contribute significantly to the respect of human rights”.
“Taking into account the deteriorating situation of human rights, especially regarding the rights of minorities, I wanted to make sure that the authorities in Pristina are ready to continue with fundamental reforms to improve protection for all citizens of Kosovo . I have identified three major remaining issues where immediate action is needed. So, the implementation of the verdict of the Constitutional Court for the Monastery of Deçan, the legal expropriation of the properties of the Serbian minority and the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority”, said the reporter.
Bakoyannis said that despite being warned that “no progress can be expected in any of these issues”, he added that “real progress has been observed”.
Here I stand before you with pride to inform you that the Parliamentary Assembly has managed to resolve what has been identified as one of the most important cases of violations of the rule of law, the implementation of the decision by the highest court of Kosovo pending from 2016 that would return the property to the most important Serbian monastery in the region and this represents a great victory for the rule of law, property rights of Serbs and minority rights,” she said.
Bakoyannis said that “any case of illegal expropriation of land will be subject to the scrutiny of the European Court of Human Rights”.
Then, he stopped talking about the Association, as “one of the most important open issues for the rights of minorities in Kosovo”.
“I see the establishment of the Association as a one-sided, local issue of Kosovo that affects only the citizens of Kosovo. Bearing this in mind, I made every effort towards its materialization. “Unfortunately, this issue has not been able to be negotiated,” she said.
Bakoyannis emphasized that the last Ohrid agreement between Kosovo and Serbia states that “any type of negotiation for its establishment should be done within the dialogue facilitated by the EU”.
“As a result, the Association is unfortunately beyond our reach, even if the Committee of Ministers is strongly encouraged to consider the matter,” she said.
“I hope that today the Parliamentary Assembly will underline the need to bring under the democratic umbrella of KiE another 2 million Europeans, to protect them from violations and not allow their lives to be endangered”, said the rapporteur at the end .
