Analyst for VOA: The fate of the vote on Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe is unclear

Last month, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe approved the report on Kosovo's membership in this organization. The final decision is taken by the Council of Ministers of the member countries that meets next week. But the fate of this issue remains unclear and there are rumors that Kosovo's membership may not be included in the agenda at all. The reasons seem to be related to the issue of the Association, for which the Western allies have asked Pristina to take concrete steps.

In an interview for Voice of America, analyst Agon Maliqi says that there is still an expectation that Prime Minister Kurti's government will take the required step regarding the Association, before the meeting of the Council of Ministers of KiE. He criticized Mr. Kurti for what he called an antagonistic approach with allies, which he said could cost him membership in this organization.

Voice of America: Mr. Maliqi, do you expect that the issue of Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe will not be included in the agenda of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of this organization?

Agon Maliqi: It is possible. I believe that the supporting countries of Kosovo, the main ones in Europe such as Germany, France and Britain, do not want to see Kosovo fail, that is, to vote against the admission of Kosovo, but perhaps as a form of punishment and political discipline or expression of their dissatisfaction with general or of the loss of trust they have in Prime Minister Kurti, there are signs that they are resisting putting it on the decision-making agenda of the Council of Ministers. Especially France, but also Germany and Italy are more vocal on Quint's side in this regard. But this is an ongoing issue because perhaps there is still an expectation that Prime Minister Kurti will take the required step regarding the Association and it remains to be seen these days what his steps will be.

Voice of America: However, Mr. Maliqi, isn't Mr. Kurti right when he says that the issue of the Association should not be confused with that of normalizing relations with Serbia?

Agon Maliqi: Formally yes, because the process of membership in the Council of Europe is a completely different process and has to do with completely different criteria and standards. However, in the end, the decision of the Council of Ministers is political. What we are seeing happen is that the supporting states of Kosovo, the main European countries, have lost any instrument or mechanism through which they can influence the approach of the Kosovo government to the dialogue. There was, for example, the case of visa liberalization, which also formally had nothing to do with the dialogue, but in some form it was also used as a lever of pressure on the government in Kosovo, and that decision was then taken in some form as an act of good faith, and now this what we are seeing happening is the accumulation of frustration and irritation of these states with the approach of the Kosovo government in the last two years in the north of Kosovo. So, it is not only about the Association, but it is about the loss of confidence of these states that Kosovo will live up to those commitments or agreements that it has accepted and has as obligations. And not only this government of Mr. Kurti, but there are obligations arising from the agreements of past governments.

Voice of America: Western diplomats and observers have suggested that Kosovo move forward with the issue of the Association by taking it to the Constitutional Court. What could she potentially lose or gain if she took such a step?

Agon Maliqi : Kosovo should have taken this step a long time ago. Kosovo is not being asked to establish the Association immediately, but Kosovo is being asked to start the process. The first step in this process is to send the government decree and statute to the Constitutional Court for verification. The Constitutional Court is an institution of Kosovo which filters and gives the seal, that is, it gives legitimacy to this institution and puts it within the parameters and chronicles of Kosovo's sovereignty.

Voice of America : Why do you think the government is not taking this step?

Agon Maliqi: For me this is unreasonable. In the end, Serbia is being given an excuse to present the argument in the international arena that Kosovo is a blocking party in this process, when in fact the main interest of Serbia is that the normalization agreement between the two states does not move forward and this issue drags on. indefinitely, so that Kosovo does not move forward with membership in international organizations. In this context, the lack of steps on the part of Kosovo gives this space to Serbia to make this argument, not to undertake those steps and those obligations of its own that it has assumed.

Voice of America : However, Mr. Maliqi Prishtina has hesitated to establish the Association for fear that it could turn into an entity similar to the Republika Srpska in Bosnia. How rational is this fear of Pristina?

Agon Maliqi: In the last 10 years there has been a lot of mythology about the Association. It has been talked about more superficially, everyone has had their own interpretation of what it is, but never without actually dealing with its content. However, there is room for concerns because there are spaces or possibilities that this entity could become a problem for the functioning of Kosovo's citizenship. However, we have a process where international mediators and the main supporters of Kosovo's sovereignty, such as the United States, but also European countries, have been offered in some form as guarantors, so that when Kosovo fulfills this promise, they have been offered as guarantors to Serbia in this case, but at the same time they have offered Kosovo as a guarantor, that this entity will not be such, blocking and sabotaging citizenship. And there is no greater guarantee for this than the fact that the Constitutional Court will legitimize this entity. Therefore, Kosovo should not be afraid of this process. Kosovo has had space to actually ask for things in return, that is, to receive guarantees for membership in international organizations, to ensure steps forward with recognition from countries that do not recognize it in the EU, i.e. the five EU countries and four of NATO and move forward on the path of integration in NATO and the EU. So, during the last two years, Kosovo has had space to make these steps of its own conditional. But unfortunately the government has taken an antagonistic and non-cooperative approach with the allies in this process and these days we are seeing the final result of this approach.