Byzantine Blog

Most Europe’s Parliamentary Groups Urge Continuation of Kosovo Province Talks

Reporting from Strasbourg, Tanjug informs that most of the parliamentary groups of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Tuesday voted in favor of the continuation of the talks on the future status of Kosovo and Metohija, underscoring the necessity of a compromise solution.

During a debate on a draft resolution on the situation in Kosovo tabled by Lord Russell-Johnston, representatives of the European People's Party, European Democratic Group, United European Left and Socialist Group did not agree with the conclusions of the British parliamentarian.

Lord Russell-Johnston’s report said that “chances for the search for a solution had been exhausted” and that a decision on the status of Serbia's southern province need to be imposed. The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe was the only parliamentary group to back his report.

There is still enough room for a dialogue, while halting the dialogue would be a negative factor, and victory of one side and defeat of the other is not the best solution, said representative of the Group of the European People's Party, warning of the dangers of a precedent.

Russian deputy Konstantin Kosachev evaluated that another cause of the Kosovo crisis was support to separatism coming from America and some European countries, which had been sending clear messages and thus made the talks on the future status nonsensical.

The European Parliamentary Socialist Group stated that this is an exceptionally sensitive and explosive issue, which requires more caution. The Group urged for respect of UN SC Resolution 1244, which guarantees Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity and urges for an international framework for resolving the issue.

Slovak Government and PACE President Rene Van der Linden Against Unilateral Declarations

During the first day, Slovak government confirmed its firm opposition to unilateral declaration of independence by the Kosovo Albanian separatists in southern Serbian province.

“Slovak government is opposed to the unilateral declaration of the independence of Kosovo without a decision by international organizations charged with resolving this issue,” Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told reporters in Strasboug on Monday.

“A unilateral decision on independence is insufficient for the Slovak government to recognize such a state,” said Fico, who addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in the afternoon during the first day of its winter session.

Fico expressed agreement on this issue with outgoing PACE President Rene Van der Linden.

“Van der Linden has told me that the unilateral declaration of the independence of Kosovo, without a decision by the relevant international organizations, would cause numerous problems,” Fico stated, underscoring that it is necessary to always respect organizations in charge of the resolution of controversial international issues.

PACE Delegates: Serbian Kosovo Province is Neither Unique, nor Above the Law

Today, Kommersant has published a detailed report from the PACE session focused on southern Serbian province of Kosovo-Metohija, concluding that the PACE political delegations turned Lord Russell Johnstone's Kosovo resolution “upside-down”, entirely reversing its intended message, and voted for continuation of negotiations.

“We are not talking about a unique situation,” Britain’s Mike Hancock, Lord Russell-Johnston’s fellow Liberal Democrat said, as reported by the Kommersant. “It is dangerous to suggest that the Kosovo solution of UDI is not setting a precedent. We are saying that, because there is no ongoing dialogue, we should simply cave in, give them all the resources that they need and create a failed state in the heart of Europe,” added British PACE delegate.

French Socialist Josette Durrieu said: “We cannot say that all ways to find a compromise have been exhausted if we don’t want to see a new war on the Balkans.”

Katerina Konecna from the Czech Republic reminded European parliamentarians of the historical example her countrymen experienced during Hitler's "struggle for human rights": “My country has experienced the imposed separation of part of its territory in the past. Violent separatist efforts were supported from the outside and boosted by pressure from a segment of the international community. We know it under the name of the Munich agreement.”

“The countries that did not accept the independence of Chechnya at the time have no right to accept the independence of Kosovo today,” another Czech lawmaker, Tomas Jirsa from the European Democrats said.

According to the Kommersant reporters, Azerbaijan’s delegation vehemently opposed the resolution saying that Kosovo would surely become a dangerous precedent and hinder the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.

Ivica Dacic, representing Serbia, asked why the Europeans are willing to grant independence to Kosovo but refuse it to Corsica, Quebec, Catalonia, Basques, Northern Ireland, Kurdistan, Palestine and Northern Cyprus.

“Dutch deputy Tiny Kox, leader of the United Left, told Kommersant that the resolution had already been “murdered”. The judicial committee endorsed the amendments that had already reversed its meaning. A key amendment that was submitted by 12 delegates including Russia and Serbia took out the phrase that talks reached a stalemate and the EU should get prepared for Kosovo to declare independence to introduce a new one suggesting new talks. Most delegates voted against calling the talks stalemated and supported the idea of ordering new talks without attaching any deadlines,” reports Kommersant.