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To join the Council of Europe, Kosovo must accept the principles of the rule of law, separation of powers, the exercise of human rights and freedoms, and ensure that it protects freedom of expression and the media, equality and minorities. .
Legislation adopted and implemented according to the principles of the rule of law and human rights standards and norms, is an essential element in meeting the criteria for membership in the Council of Europe, says the executive director of the Kosovo Law Institute (KLI), Ehat Miftaraj .
On May 12, Kosovo applied for membership at the Council of Europe headquarters in Strasbourg.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Donika Gërvalla, said that the decision to apply to the Council of Europe, Kosovo has taken in a timely manner and believes that the country will join this mechanism.
“So far we have not encountered any credible resistance, which suggests that the process could be jeopardized. Of course, we will respect all procedures, we will be very honest, very dedicated and serious throughout this process. “And we hope that Kosovo will belong to those countries, which needed a shorter period of time to join the Council of Europe”, Gërvalla emphasized, on May 13, at a press conference in Prishtina. ]
The application for membership in the EC is reviewed by the Committee of Ministers and after reviewing the situation in Kosovo, the final word is given by the Parliamentary Assembly, which consists of national representatives of the member states. Admission is by a 2/3 majority vote.
Ehat Miftaraj says that Kosovo has met some of the criteria several years ago,
but former ombudsman Hilmi Jashari believes the country may face challenges along the way to membership.
According to Miftaraj, the Constitution of Kosovo stipulates that the separation of powers is clear and has high guarantees in terms of respect for human rights and freedoms.
“The aim of the Council of Europe is for the state, through the Constitution and the laws, to guarantee the principles of the rule of law, the separation of powers and the observance of human rights and freedoms.
Fortunately, Kosovo with the Constitution not only respects human rights and freedoms, but in many cases exceeds them, in terms of positive discrimination of non-majority communities. “The powers are also divided”, Miftaraj estimates.
State power in the Republic of Kosovo is the legislative, executive and judicial powers. The Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo exercises legislative power. The government exercises executive power in accordance with the Constitution and laws. Whereas, the judiciary is unique, independent and exercised by the courts.
Also, according to the Constitution, fundamental human rights and freedoms are indivisible, inalienable and inviolable and are the basis of the legal order of the Republic of Kosovo.
The minority communities recognized by the Constitution in Kosovo are: Serb, Bosniak, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, Gorani and Turkish communities. The two official languages at the national level are Albanian and Serbian, and according to the Law on the Use of Languages, Turkish, Bosnian and Roma have the status of official languages in municipalities where at least five percent of the members of these communities live.
According to the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, every member of communities has the right to freely express, advance and develop the relevant identity and attributes as a community. According to the Constitution, out of 120 seats in the Assembly, 20 are reserved for non-majority communities, 10 for the Serb community and 10 for other communities.
Among other things, the Constitution states that the Republic of Kosovo will promote the spirit of tolerance, dialogue and support inter-community reconciliation and will respect the standards set by the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
And, in case of violations of their rights guaranteed by law by administrative or judicial bodies in the country, Miftaraj says that the citizens of Kosovo after accession to the Council of Europe, will have the opportunity to address the European Court of Human Rights. Human, in Strasbourg./REL
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