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The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will vote on the report on Kosovo's membership or not in this organization today during a plenary session in Strasbourg.
It is about the adoption of a positive opinion or not for Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, an organization which mainly deals with human rights and the development of democracy.
The report was compiled by the Greek MP, Dora Bakoyannis, and the draft of this report was approved in March by the Committee for Politics and Democracy of this organization.
To be approved by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, a two-thirds majority of the votes of the members present at the meeting must be secured. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe consists of deputies who come from the national parliaments of the member countries.
The day before the vote in Strasbourg, there were numerous consultations to see how the mood is. There were meetings between the delegations of the political parties, while the delegations from Serbia and Kosovo made the last efforts to convince the deputies to vote in their favor in the largest number possible. In the case of Kosovo, approve the positive opinion for membership, while in the case of Serbia, vote against.
A delegation of the Assembly of Kosovo is at the headquarters of the Council of Europe from Kosovo, while the Foreign Minister of Kosovo, Donika Gërvalla, has also held meetings at various levels.
The impression of the delegates of several member countries of the Council of Europe, with whom Radio Free Europe spoke, is that it will be possible to secure favorable votes for Kosovo in this session.
However, they have noticed that at the last moment there was a move by some member countries which recognize Kosovo as a state, but are not sure of their support for Kosovo's admission to the Council of Europe at this moment.
It will also be a challenge to ensure the presence of a sufficient number of deputies to ensure the necessary quorum. For this, at least one third of the total members of the Assembly must be present. Meanwhile, two-thirds of the votes of those present are needed for the report on Kosovo to pass.
It is also mentioned the possibility that a certain number of deputies may not participate in the session at all, so that they are not seen voting either in favor or against.
If the Parliamentary Assembly votes in favor of Kosovo's membership on Tuesday, then the matter passes into the hands of the Council of Europe's foreign ministers, who must finally decide whether or not to accept Kosovo as the organization's newest member.
The next meeting of the Council of Ministers will take place in the middle of May. The Council of Foreign Ministers of the Council of Europe meets once a year, traditionally in the month of May.
However, there are rumors in diplomatic circles that Kosovo's membership may not be placed on the agenda of the meeting of ministers in May.
This is also related to the activity of the QUINT countries, the United States, Germany, Great Britain, France and Italy, which usually support Kosovo, but now want to see Kosovo move towards the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority. .
As for the report, which will be voted on on Tuesday, it mentions the establishment of the Association as a condition after membership in the Council of Europe. However, it is learned that the Italian delegation has proposed an amendment to this report, requesting that Kosovo establish the Association before joining the Council of Europe.
Until the last moment, it will be unclear how the votes will go and in what form the text will be approved.
The debate on Kosovo and the vote is expected to take place on Tuesday afternoon in Strasbourg./REL
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