Council of Europe

Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic has warned that Serbia could withdraw from the Council of Europe if Kosovo is admitted to the organization, as reported by media outlets in Belgrade.

BELGRADE - The head of Serbia's standing parliamentary delegation to the Council of Europe (CoE) Parliamentary Assembly Biljana Pantic-Pilja said on Friday CoE rapporteur Dora Bakoyannis had recommended that the so-called Kosovo be admitted the organisation, and added that its Committee on Political Affairs would decide on this at an extraordinary session scheduled for March 25.

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic said on Thursday a statement by the Council of Europe (CoE) rapporteur for the so-called Kosovo, Dora Bakoyannis, that CoE membership for the so-called Kosovo would enable better protection for Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija was scandalous and a culmination of hypocrisy and double standards.

Four prominent international organizations representing magistrates have issued a resounding call to action, urging the Council of Europe and the European Union to intervene swiftly in response to alarming threats faced by Bulgarian judges.

The Council of Europe's anti-corruption body GRECO had criticized Greece's refusal to allow peers to be involved in the process of appointing senior judges and prosecutors.

BELGRADE - Serbian Finance Minister Sinisa Mali said on Monday a conclusion by the Council of Europe money laundering watchdog MONEYVAL that Serbia had made progress on development of an anti-money laundering and terror financing system confirmed the country was on the right track.

The conclusion is included in the latest MONEYVAL report, published earlier in the day.

Turkish authorities are poised to embark on a new three-pronged strategy encompassing intensive diplomatic processes with both the European Union and individual member states to address the challenges frequently encountered by Turkish citizens in obtaining Schengen visas, sources have said.

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Ana Brnabic met with newly-appointed head of the Council of Europe (CoE) Office in Serbia Janos Babity on Friday to discuss cooperation to date and continuation of cooperation with the CoE on existing as well as new programmes.

Former Prime Minister and former leftist SYRIZA head Alexis Tsipras was elected as president of the Council of Europe's Sub-Committee on the Western Balkans with 80% of the vote.

Tsipras' opponent was conservative Zsolt Nemeth, a member of the Hungarian National Assembly.

"Threats and intimidation, detention of journalists, restrictive legislation, lawsuits or lawsuits filed by a powerful person or organization against persons not belonging to governments and attacks on public media."