March 28 (SeeNews) - The political affairs committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) said it has recommended to invite Kosovo to become a member of the Council of Europe.
The committee welcomed Kosovo’s application for membership, adding that the establishment of an association of Serb-dominated municipalities in northern Kosovo and protecting Kosovo Serb communities' rights should be a post-accession commitment for Kosovo, the Council of Europe said in a press release on Wednesday.
“Membership would lead to the strengthening of human rights standards by ensuring access to the European Court of Human Rights for all those who are under Kosovo’s jurisdiction,” the Council of Europe said.
Given that a number of Council of Europe member states do not recognize Kosovo as a state, the council called for dialogue and compromise, and invited the Committee of Ministers to ensure that Kosovo’s membership was “without prejudice to individual member states’ positions as regards the statehood of Kosovo,” as per the press release.
The full assembly will debate the committee's recommendation on April 18 when it will vote on a final opinion on Kosovo’s application for membership. The final decision on membership is taken by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers.
Last week, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic told local media that Serbia might leave the organisation if Kosovo is admitted as a member.
Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in 2008. As many as 12 of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe do not recognize Kosovo as a state.