With an overwhelming majority, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted in favor of the report recommending Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe. 131 deputies voted for, 29 were against, and 11 abstained. Before this happened, Serbia mobilized to fight Kosovo in this battle. In addition to failing with the majority of MPs coming from supporting states, her propaganda did not drink water even with some MPs from non-recognizing states. The most vocal throughout the debate was Romanian Iulian Bulai.
Bulai, who is also the spokesperson of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group, at the beginning of his speech informed his colleagues that they were born in states that no longer exist, supporting the existence of the state of Kosovo.
He said that regimes and countries differ, but the human rights organization focuses on people and the protection of their rights.
“My grandparents were born in the Kingdom of Romania. My parents and I were born in a communist republic. My children were born in a democracy. Countries and regimes vary. People stay. And looking around at this Assembly, I noticed that actually more than half of the members present here were born in countries that no longer exist. Therefore, our fight is not for countries, but for individual rights”.
Regarding his party beliefs, Bulai said that “this is a historic day from a liberal point of view”.
“We are protecting the rights of individuals. Not of countries, not of ethnic groups. Today’s decision means more rights for the 1.6 million people who lived through the war, whose wounds are still healing and who are forced to build a new future together.”
He also said that today’s decision is a starting point and that they expect Kosovo to fulfill the agreed reforms and international commitments.
Bulai also highlighted the danger of creating a Free Republic in Kosovo, but added that the rights of Kosovo Serb citizens must be protected.
“Kosovo is ready and deserves to join the Council of Europe. At the same time, Kosovo must ensure proper protection of Serbian communities. That being said, we should not go down the wrong path of possibly creating a new Republika Srpska in northern Kosovo. But we should not overlook the real need of the Serbian minority to be respected and included in Kosovo. I want to thank the presence of the Serbian ambassador but also the ambassador of Kosovo. It is very important. It’s a good sign to have both here. So I’m very grateful for that. I want to thank, of course, everyone for your presence and I want to say, on behalf of the liberal family, that I trust the wisdom of the Committee of Ministers to make the right decision for the future of 1.6 million people – not the state, not the ethnicity, but to the people”, he concluded the speech.
Another support for Kosovo comes from the member of the EU state who mostly opposes Kosovo’s independence.
The Spanish deputy, Nerea Ahedo, who comes from the same group as Bulain, ALDE, in addition to the support in the Council of Europe, said that her party in Spain also supports the independence of Kosovo.
“Since Kosovo declared its independence, my political party, the Basque Nationalist Party, has supported it. We think that it was a triumph of freedom and democracy and we believe that this was also the triumph of the free decision of the citizens of Kosovo, therefore we must respect it and, of course, respect the rights of minorities, such as that of the Serbs in Kosovo. All their rights must be respected.”
“Kosovo wants to become a member of the Council of Europe. It seems to me that it meets all the requirements and its legal framework is adapting to this situation. Although there are still issues that require improvement. As the report rightly states, its membership in the Council of Europe would strengthen human rights, consolidate democracy and of course, the citizens of Kosovo would have access to the European Court of Human Rights – a great achievement. Kosovo will be more connected to democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Therefore, we will support this path and we will support the recommendation that will be submitted to the Committee of Ministers inviting Kosovo to become a member of the Council of Europe. We look forward to this integration and I really think this will be another way to support stability and peace within the region.”
She said that the Greek reporter, Dora Bakoyannis, was “absolutely right” when she said that the report does not talk about the citizenship of Kosovo.
“The Council of Europe must do what it must do, but it cannot be preoccupied by other realities. I don’t really understand this or I don’t know what the reasons for this could be or what the justifications could be for this lack of recognition that I have stated, considering that Kosovo’s independence does not actually violate international legal provisions”.
In this case, Ahedo spoke about the similar problems of some regions of Spain, including her own country.
“Among the states that have not recognized Kosovo as a state is the state of Spain, which still has unresolved territorial issues that have not yet been sufficiently resolved. I’m talking about Catalonia or actually my region: Euskadi, the Basque Country. Therefore, I take this opportunity to say that we must solve these territorial issues, but we must do so while fully respecting the decision of the citizens. They have free will as people, of course, always through dialogue and always through agreement.”
She also called for the recognition of Kosovo’s independence by the European countries that have not yet done so.
“Regarding the topic of this report, I would therefore like to ask that it is basically an appeal to those who have not recognized Kosovo as a state, please do so. Kosovo should be fully recognized as a state. Why? Because this would be a way to respect the decision made by the citizens of Kosovo, which seems decisive to me and would also help stability and peace in the region”.
Support for any Albanian words was also expected from the Ukrainian MP, Oleksii Goncharenko, who had previously given loud speeches in favor of Kosovo.
“I want to congratulate Kosovo. I am sure that now there will be a positive decision. And Kosovo really deserves it, 100%. This is a very big moment, not only for Kosovo, not only for the Balkans, but for all of us. Because the free world must unite, the free world must unite now. Tyranny and empires are trying to get revenge. Just look at what’s happening. Putin tries to rebuild the Russian Empire. Look how he is in attack now”.
Before the Assembly of the Council of Europe, Goncharenko also spoke about the dangerous Russian tendencies to influence some regions.
“What is happening now in Georgia? Where right now, right now the Georgian Parliament is considering the so-called law on foreign agents, which is a copy of the Russian law. And the people of Georgia are angry about it. With this Russia is trying to take Georgia from Europe. This is something that should not… we should not give them this opportunity. Just look at what is happening in the Balkans, where Russia is trying to add fuel to the fire. And there will be a great fire in the Balkans and a great war there. Now we are taking a step against it. Because when there are gray areas it is always very dangerous. Kosovo should not be a gray area. Kosovo should be a member of the Council of Europe, in the future a member of the European Union”.
“Kosovo is Europe”, said the Ukrainian MP in Albanian.
“And this is true. And we must go further. We have to help all other countries.”
He said that Kosovo wants to be part of the free world and that it deserves it, while addressing Serbia that it will never be able to realize its ambitions for the “Serbian Empire”.
“We have to make our step today and that is very important. And last but not least, I want to address Serbia. Just look at other places in history. We were happy to work together with democratic Serbia, but you will never rebuild the Serbian Empire in the Balkans, that is most impossible. And in general there is no more place in Europe for an empire, neither Russian nor any other. Just stop this revanchism, just turn this page and be with us and let’s build together. Just stop these links with Putin and other dictators, don’t play games with them. These will only lead you to poverty, to problems, to chaos as you have today. Just stop this, move forward, move together with your neighbors, with all European countries. Let us be strong enough to stop all tyrants on our continent and together we will do it because our values are truly our strength. I really believe in that. Big day. Kosovo is Europe”, the Ukrainian MP concluded his speech.
“Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe can give hope to the Armenians of Karabakh for a future in their historic homeland.”
With this reasoning, the deputy of Armenia, Armen Gevorgyan, supported Kosovo’s right to membership in the Council of Europe. However, he did not do this without complaining about Europe’s double standards towards Kosovo and the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“Europe has traditionally tried to overcome drawing parallels between Kosovo and other unknown entities that aspire to exercise their right to self-determination, for example the Republic of Artsakh. Such a selective approach to self-determination and its implementation has become one of the main sources of instability on the continent. Instead of turning into a source of international order and justice, it became an open instrument for geopolitical change. Both Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s had the same legitimate right to exist. They have been autonomous entities within the socialist republics. The whole absurdity of the current situation lies in the fact that, as part of the totalitarian Soviet Union, Nagorno-Karabakh had autonomous status and self-government, while in the era of democracy and the wider European framework, it remained unknown and the locals were ethnically cleansed from the lands their native”.
He said that selective approaches and double standards depend on the cause and uncertainty in international relations, which he added stimulate authoritarian tendencies and lower democratic standards.
Gevorgyan asked to draw parallels with Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabakh.
“With the Armenians we will have to reset and start many things from scratch. First of all, we must tell the new and future European political elites about the roots of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and draw parallels with the case of Kosovo. Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe can give hope to the Armenians of Karabakh for a future in their historic homeland. If Europe today shows a strong will to adopt a new framework for the defense of Kosovo’s independence, I believe that the same Europe should find opportunities to facilitate the collective return of Armenians to their historical homeland in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Council of Europe should join the European Parliament in efforts to help them determine their political future and exercise their democratic self-government under strong international security guarantees. I hope that the Council of Europe, by ensuring the independence of Kosovo, can also reaffirm its commitment to the protection and preservation of basic political rights without a selective approach”.
