Council of Europe: Kosovo has submitted candidacy, committee will be considering it

Photo: Tanjug/AP

The Council of Europe has confirmed for Tanjug that they have received the membership request from the Pristina institutions, but they say that at this moment they cannot foresee the further procedure in this specific case.

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"We can confirm that the request for membership has been received and forwarded to the Committee of Ministers in accordance with the Statute of the Council of Europe," said a statement.

The Statute of the Council of Europe states that the Committee of Ministers may invite any European state which it deems to be "willing and able" to accept the principles of "the rule of law, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons under its jurisdiction" and to "cooperate sincerely and effectively" in achieving the goals of the Council of Europe regarding the promotion of human rights, the rule of law and democracy.

The Statute of the Council of Europe stipulates that the decision on membership is made by a two-thirds majority in the Committee of Ministers.

At the same time, the possibility of so-called "associate membership" is envisaged "in special cases" where the associate member is represented only at the level of the Consultative Assembly.

The Council of Europe is an international organization founded in 1949 to support human rights and democracy.

It is based in Strasbourg, France, and currently has 46 member states that have a combined population of about 675 million. Serbia has been a member since 2003.

Unlike the institutions of the European Union, which bring together only the 27 member states of the bloc, the Council of Europe is a pan-European body, that cannot pass legislation, but can encourage implementation of international agreements signed by member states concerning various issues.

The Council of Europe is composed of the Committee of Ministers, made up of foreign ministers of the member states, and the Parliamentary Assembly composed of members of the national parliaments of each member state.

Among the bodies of the Council of Europe are the European Court of Human Rights and GRECO, the anti-corruption body, which obligate member states to act in accordance with the principles of the rule of law and democracy.

(Telegraf.rs)