Gorčević: Montenegro will support Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, Vukićević expressed his party's position

Gorčević commented on the fact that Maja Vukićević, head of the Delegation of Montenegro to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), voted against Kosovo's entry into the CE

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Gorčević, Photo: Boris Pejović
Gorčević, Photo: Boris Pejović
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The Minister for European Affairs of Montenegro, Maida Gorčević, said today in Pristina that Podgorica will support Kosovo's entry into the Council of Europe when the Committee of Ministers of that organization decides on it.

"Montenegro will support Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe at the meeting of the Committee of Ministers in May. In this way, we will definitely support Kosovo on all important issues in the field of European integration," said Gorčević at a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo Besnik Bisljimi.

Gorčević commented on the fact that Maja Vukićević, head of the Delegation of Montenegro to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), voted against Kosovo's entry into the CE.

"Maja Vukićević (during the vote) presented the position of her party. I have to remind you that the (Montenegro) government is heterogeneous and that the parliamentary majority signed a coalition agreement that implies support for Kosovo and its independence and sovereignty, regardless of the right of every political subject to state his position," said Gorčević.

On March 27, the Committee for Political Affairs and Democracy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe gave a positive opinion regarding Kosovo's request to become a member of this organization.

At that session, 31 deputies voted "for", four were against, and one abstained.

Two votes against were from representatives of Serbia, and one vote against each from BiH and Montenegro, while Greek representative Alexis Tsipras abstained.

Montenegro is represented in the Committee by MP Maja Vukićević of the Democratic People's Party (DNP).

Bisljimi, who today signed the agreement on the IPA III cross-border cooperation program with Gorčević, said that it was not Montenegro that voted against Kosovo at the PSSE session, but the MP "who presented the position of a political entity".

"This is not something new, and we in Kosovo have political entities in the parliament, such as the Serbian List, who work and act against the interests of the state of Kosovo. What is important is that Mrs. Vukićević's voice does not represent the official position of Montenegro, which has not been changed since October 9, 2008, when Podgorica recognized Kosovo. But such voices show how important it is to intensify cooperation and marginalize such actions," added Bisljimi.

He also said that the vote of two members of the Serbian parliament against Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe "is not new", stating that Serbia "violated almost all the articles" of the Agreement on the road to normalization, which the leaders of the two parties agreed on last year in Brussels and Ohrid.

"But they may have unintentionally done a service to Kosovo with their presence, because they helped secure the quorum. They did an indirect service to Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, but at the same time they violated the Agreement and exposed their attitude towards good neighborliness, which is a very important value for us," he said. is Bisljimi.

One of the provisions of the Agreement on the Road to Normalization is that Serbia will not oppose Kosovo's membership in any international organization.

After the PSSE Committee for Political Affairs and Democracy adopted the draft Opinion on Kosovo's request for membership on March 27, all PSSE members will vote on it in mid-April. If they also adopt it, the final decision on Kosovo's membership will be made by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in mid-May.

By adopting the draft Opinion, PSSE accepted the recommendation of rapporteur Dora Bakojani that Kosovo be invited to become a member of the Council of Europe.

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