PACE president on visit to Serbia

PACE president on visit to Serbia

BELGRADE -- "Kosovo has not yet applied to join the Council of Europe (CoE) as a member," Anne Brasseur has said.

The president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) commented on the issue during her visit to Belgrade on Tuesday.

Asked about "the chances of Kosovo becoming a member of the CoE" at a press conference following her address to the Serbian parliament, Brasseur told reporters that "programs were being prepared aimed at protecting human rights and democracy in Kosovo."

"These programs are being realized in cooperation with Serbia. Serbia gives support to the Council of Europe in this regard," she stressed.

Brasseur pointed to the importance of continued cooperation and communication where no opinions are imposed on the parties involved.

"What we have to do is enable the citizens of Kosovo to benefit from the rights deriving from the Declaration on Human Rights. At the present moment, the citizens of Kosovo cannot use the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg," said Brasseur.

In her address to the Serbian Assembly, the PACE president "welcomed the positive development in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, expressing confidence that even greater progress will be made in the future," Tanjug reported.

Today, Serbia is a stable, democratic, multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country, Brasseur said during a special parliamentary session.

"As the current OSCE chair, Serbia is an important player on the European scene, it is an EU candidate country and an important factor in the region," said Brasseur, adding that Serbia "shares the values of the European community and the highest standards in human rights, rule of law and democracy."...