Strasbourg, 22/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - A bleak picture of the state of democracy in Kosovo and a vote on a resolution calling for the Council of Europe to monitor this country, which is not one of its member states.
Apart from Belarus and the Vatican, Kosovo - which has been independent since 17 February 2008 - is the only state on the continent not to belong to the Council of Europe. The country, which was created when the former Yugoslavia was dismantled, is, however, being closely monitored by the Strasbourg-based institution, which devoted long debates to it this Tuesday morning before voting on a resolution stressing the importance of “maintaining direct working relations with the authorities of Kosovo at all levels”. The situation in the country is critical, stated Swedish Socialist Björn von Sydow, who has been tasked by the Parliamentary Assembly with drafting a report on the subject. “GDP per head of population is the lowest in Europe”, he said, “30% of the population is living in poverty, legal and political corruption are eroding society, safety and security cannot be guaranteed and only yesterday, a bomb attack was carried out in a Serbian cemetery”. The rapporteur flagged up a major deficiency in setting in place the rule of law in Kosovo, that of education. “Minority languages should be more present and better defended in schools”, he said, referring to school curricula which, in teaching history, can only “perpetuate the divisions of the past” between Serbians and Kosovars and make it impossible to imagine “reconciliation in the Balkans”. Organised crime, trafficking in human beings transiting via Kosovo, “major violence against women (…), the situation is bleak in Kosovo”, von Sydow concluded at the end of his introductions to the debates. However, he took pains to stress one positive point, which was then picked up on by other speakers: the dialogue now in place between Pristina and Zagreb, the capitals of Kosovo and Serbia, to normalise relations between the two countries. “This commitment, which is carried out at prime minister level, seems to have actually been put in place”, he said. It is, however, in Serbia's “interests to smooth over its relationship with Kosovo if it wishes to consolidate its application to join the European Union”, pointed out French Socialist Jean-Pierre Michel, who called for the simultaneous presentation of reports on Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. “This would show that these four states born of the collapse of the former Yugoslavia are not proper democracies”, he said, confirming that the main challenge facing Kosovo today was to appease conflicts between “communities still living in hatred of each other”. Kosovo, which is not recognised by five European countries - Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus, which fear a precedent - was described as a “Casus singularis” by the Greek Dimitrios Papadimoulis (European United Left), whilst Lithuania''s Egidis Vareikis (European People's Party, centre-right) expressed the view that “what was seen as the solution has now become a problem”. There was a broad convergence of opinions on the “bleak” view established by von Sydow and the members also approved the second plank of his report on the “role of the Council of Europe” in helping Kosovo to make progress towards the rule of law. For this reason, the PACE decided to step up and extend its dialogue with the Assembly of Kosovo, in its adoption today of a resolution stressing the need to “carry out direct relations at all levels with the authorities of this country”. The PACE is also calling on Pristina and Belgrade to cooperate with the units investigating war crimes and organised crime funded by the mission of the European Union in Kosovo (EULEX) and with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the special investigation task force of the European Union. (VL/transl.fl)