Kosovo to draft law on establishment of Serb communities

“After concretizing today our dedication to take an important and tangible step in fulfilling our commitments, we request and anticipate the Council of Europe to fulfil its part of the obligation and invite Kosovo to join the Council of Europe without delay, as the country which has not only faced the most stringent conditions for membership in this organization but has also met all these conditions,” Gervalla said in a social media post.

The law will aims to create a framework for the self-management, coordination, and cooperation for Serb-dominated municipalities, Gervalla stated.

Last month, a recommendation that Kosovo be invited to become a member of the CoE was passed by PACE by 131 out of a total of 171 votes. The assembly suggested the establishment of the Kosovo Serbs communities and protecting their rights be a post-accession commitment for Kosovo. The recommendation must now be adopted by the organization’s executive body, the Committee of Ministers, which comprises the foreign ministers of member states. However, CoE has not yet put vote for the PACE recommendation on Kosovo on its mid-May agenda.

In March, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic told local media that Serbia might leave the organisation if Kosovo is admitted as member.

Earlier this month, Kosovo's prime minister Albin Kurti said accelerating the establishment of the association ahead of other human rights commitments was not feasible.

Long before applying for CoE membership, establishing partly-autonomous Serbian communities in Kosovo has been a key topic in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo, following Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence from Belgrade in 2008. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence.

According to a report of the World-Bank founded think-tank European Stability Initiative (ESI) published in February, there are around 95,000 Serbs living mostly in northern Kosovo. The precise number of Kosovo Serbs is difficult to determine as they have boycotted national censuses. The country has a population of around 1.74 million, according to Kosovo's statistics office, ASK.