“A historic debate will start in Strasbourg: Will PACE open the door to Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe?”, writes Gerald Knaus from the European Initiative for Stability in “X”, predicting a dynamic debate in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, regarding Kosovo’s request for membership.
Knaus has published a list of speakers who will participate in this discussion before the vote.
Kosovar MPs Enis Kervan, Arben Gashi and Saranda Bogujevci will be members of the Kosovo delegation that will speak at the Parliamentary Assembly.
Four representatives from Albania will speak: Blerina Gjylameti, Lulzim Basha, Klotilda Bushka, Etilda Gjonaj.
The list includes a total of 59 representatives from different countries who will speak, including 6 Serbs.
In advance, Iulian Bulai from Romania, Alexis Tsipras from Greece, Frank Schwabe from Germany, Ingjerd Schie Schou from Norway and Zsolt Nemeth from Hungary will speak on behalf of the political groups.
Earlier in the day, the Committee for Political Affairs and Democracy in the Council of Europe has rejected all the amendments that were proposed by the Serbian delegation and several Italian and Hungarian MPs to make the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities a condition for the membership of Kosovo in CoE.
Yesterday, the Committee for Legal Affairs and Human Rights in the Council of Europe voted unanimously in favor of Kosovo’s application for membership.
Kosovo took a step towards membership in the Council of Europe on March 27. Despite the vote against Serbia and two other countries, the Committee for Politics and Democracy of the Council of Europe approved the report of the rapporteur for Kosovo, Dora Bakoyannis, who recommends that the country has fulfilled the conditions to become a full member of the Council of Europe.
If the Parliamentary Assembly gives the green light today, then the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe must give the final word on Kosovo’s membership in May.
The Kosovo delegation in Strasbourg is optimistic that the necessary votes have been secured to pass this round in the membership process.
