Serbian FM Will Try To Block Kosovo’s Quest for CoE Membership

Ivica Dacic (BETAPHOTO/Foreign Ministry/Ognjen Stevanovic)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic will attend a session of the Council of Europe (CoE) although he has earlier said he will not travel to Strasbourg due to the announcement that Kosovo will be admitted in the CoE.  

BETA has been told at the Serbian Foreign Ministry that Dacic will be present at the CoE session on April 18, which will mark the 20th anniversary of Serbia’s membership. “In Strasbourg, Minister Dacic will try to block the procedure for Kosovo’s membership in the CoE,” BETA was told at the Ministry.

Earlier, Dacic said he had no intention of going to Strasbourg if Kosovo was to be granted membership. He added that launch of the procedure for Kosovo’s membership had been announced on the 10th anniversary of the Brussels Agreement, although Pristina had not fulfilled its obligations set in the Agreement.  

Kosovo applied for CoE membership on May 12, 2022. An application is first considered by the Committee of Minister, while the final say is given by the Parliamentary Assembly. A country’s membership needs to be supported by a two-third majority.

Kosovo president’s Office Chief Blerim Vela has said that Kosovo’s membership in the CoE is in line with the Brussels Agreement from 2013 and 2023, adding that if Serbia voted against it, it would be in violation of the Agreement.