A criminal and historic mistake – Greece’s New Democracy sets fire to the Balkans with the Kosovo vote in the Council of Europe! After Russia and the Arab world, Greece is losing the friendship of its Orthodox brothers Serbia because of Kosovo. Anger in Serbia with Dora Bakoyannis is running high with Greece and the government of New Democracy.
As the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted in favor of Kosovo’s membership in the organization, bringing this region one step closer to achieving this goal and possibly sparking off yet another conflict. Serbian representative Biljana Pantić Pilja called the spokesperson Dora Bakoyannis a “hypocrite”, adding that Serbia is “a small nation but it will never surrender”. “I wish to congratulate you for what you are doing today because you will go down in history as someone who, most brutally, violated all the norms,” she added, a statement that earned her a swift rebuke from the chair. Several amendments were filed before the session, mainly by Serbia, but with one surprise from Italy, which called for Kosovo’s application to be delayed until “all articles of the Brussels and the Ohrid Agreements are implemented, including the establishment of the Association of the Serb majority municipalities.”
Bakoyianni’s report said that Kosovo is “generally in line with Council of Europe standards and that its Constitution is a very progressive one” and aligned with various international conventions and human rights charters. She also noted that “membership will strengthen human rights standards by ensuring access to the European Court of Human Rights for all those under the jurisdiction of Kosovo”.The final membership decision now rests with the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, the executive body of the organisation, which will meet in May 2024. A 2/3 majority is required to approve Pristina’s membership.
The Kosovo region, however, is of profound importance for Serbia.
It contains many Serbian Orthodox Christian monasteries and is considered the cradle of Serbian culture. The Battle of Kosovo was fought in 1389 and is considered a defining moment for Serbian national identity. This explains why there is so much anger in Serbia with Dora Bakoyannis is running high
Historically, Greece had stressed the importance of respecting the territorial integrity of existing states. It was concerned, (before the rise of ND to power in 2019) that the recognition of Kosovo could set a precedent that could be used to justify separatist movements within Greece itself.
Greece in the past, with close cultural and religious ties to Belgrade, has not wanted to take actions that could be seen as undermining Serbia’s sovereignty. When Dora Bakoyannis made her recommendation for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic attacked her with harsh words, implying that she serves US and NATO interests in the region. “Western countries are feeling great pressure due to the advance of Russian forces and uncertainty about how the conflict in Ukraine will end. Under pressure from political messages from Moscow based on what is called the Kosovo precedent. Precisely for this reason, they are going to remove Kosovo as a potential ace up Vladimir Putin’s sleeve and that is why they are targeting Pristina and those who have supported them,” Vucic said.
“As for Dora Bakoyannis …. I will say it again, Dora: Shame on you for lying and for what you did. Shame on you, I know well from whom you were instructed not to honour your principles … shame on you … some people are cowardly.” More specifically, Vucic accused the former foreign minister of Greece that as a speaker of the European Parliament on Kosovo’s accession to the Council of Europe, she changed the conditions in her recommendation after a phone call and waived the condition that Pristina first implemented the “Union of Serbian Municipalities” (ZSO). As he said: “Suddenly she reneged on her convictions, while seemingly very firm; she then decided that ZSO is not important. And then she remembered that the expropriation was not important either. I know very well who gave the order to abandon your principles and behave like this. Shame on you.”
Vucic had warned that Serbia would take a “serious decision” in respect to the Council of Europe if that European body accepted Kosovo as a member.
