Finland is strongly supporting Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe.
Even the Chairman of the Committee for Foreign Affairs of the Parliament of Finland, Kimmo Kiljunen, indicates that even in the last phase, Kosovo will have the support of the Finnish state, but as he says, the government must take some steps towards respecting the agreement on the Association.
According to him, it is extremely important that 1.7 million citizens of Kosovo have access to the European Court of Human Rights.
“From the beginning, we have been supporters of the idea of Kosovo becoming a member of the Council of Europe. For us, it is very important that 1.7 million citizens of Kosovo have access to the European Court of Human Rights. We will continue to support you in the next steps. At this stage, Kosovo’s institutions must take care of the safety of all citizens and no longer allow unnecessary tensions. Now, before the meeting of the Committee of Ministers, it would be very good for Kosovo to take some concrete steps for the Association of Municipalities with a Serbian majority. This is an agreement in the framework of the dialogue with Serbia and it is important to respect it,” he told Tevë 1.
Kiljunen, says that Serbia does not have the strength to stop Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe.
He considers that the youngest state in Europe enjoys the support of the majority of the member countries of this organization.
“We understand Serbia’s position, but they cannot impose their position on others regarding Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. Acceptance of a new state is done with a 2/3 majority and Serbia cannot dictate this. The Serbian delegation told me that they will never recognize Kosovo’s independence, but I have also made it clear to them that they will never be part of the EU if they do not resolve this issue. They didn’t like my answer, but they understood the message”, said the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Finland.
Kosovo received the green light from the Parliamentary Assembly for membership in the Council of Europe and now the issue has passed to the Committee of Ministers.
The drafter of the positive report for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, Dora Bakoyannis, stated that no candidate was asked for more reforms than Kosovo before the discussion for membership in this organization.
