Kovac: So-called Kosovo's CoE membership bid not on agenda

BELGRADE - Serbian Deputy Parliament Speaker Elvira Kovac, who also heads the parliamentary committee on European integration, said on Tuesday the so-called Kosovo's Council of Europe membership bid was not on the agenda of a May 13-14 CoE Committee of Ministers session in Luxembourg.

"The so-called Kosovo's application for membership is not on the agenda this time, and will not be on it. So, we should be in for no surprise, because the Quint officially said a few days ago this is no time for the so-called Kosovo's Council of Europe membership. On one hand, they (Pristina) have delivered on almost nothing of what they should have delivered on and, on the other hand, it is clear that, even after 11 attempts, they have not succeeded in forming a parliament, with no government in sight either," Kovac told Tanjug in a statement.

Asked if there was a possibility of this changing, Kovac said Pristina "can always try" but that she was quite certain the application would not be included in the agenda.

"My impression is that, being aware of their political problems and unsuccessful attempts, they will not be pushing so hard so, on this occasion, as opposed to all other previous occasions, I would be quite certain the agenda will not be expanded at the last minute, which is a technical, a theoretical possibility, but they have nothing they can invoke," Kovac said.

She said Serbia was seizing all opportunities to speak with many CoE member states and point out, on every occasion, the violation of the rights of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija, as well as that a Community of Serb Municipalities - the foundation of any discussions about Pristina's potential CoE membership - had still not been formed and that that condition had not been met.