Kosovo’s Gamble with the Council of Europe

Kosovo has begun pushing for membership in the Council of Europe without a clear strategy and at a time of heightened tensions. If the small Western Balkan country does not make further inroads with its nominal supporters, its progress in Europe could be tied up for years to come.

Kosovo is at present the only European democracy not yet a member of the Council of Europe (CoE). However, its membership bid in the European human rights watchdog might be expedited by the current unhappy international events: Russia’s war in Ukraine and Moscow’s recent expulsion from the organisation. Surely, these circumstances would reflect the need to consolidate stability in the Western Balkans once and for all.

The CoE – a sort of gateway to the European Union (EU) – helped eastern European nations to democratise their political systems after the collapse of communism. The EU is its main institutional partner in political, legal and financial terms. “CoE is a sort of primary school, whereas the EU is the university,” said a CoE international expert in Pristina.

A pan-European family founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law on the continent, the CoE – bringing together European governments and an official United Nations Observer – is made up of 46 member states with a population of approximately 675 million people. It cannot make laws, but it has the ability to push for the enforcement of specific international agreements reached by the member states on various issues.