The PACE rapporteur stressed that Serbia has made considerable effort to seek out a solution to the situation in Kosovo-Metohija, which the European Commission noted in its report on Serbia’s progress toward the European Union. He said that his visit was aimed at gaining better insight into the situation in Kosovo-Metohija and the position of Serbia’s competent state authorities in order to draft a report to be adopted by the Council of Europe PA.

The Head of the standing delegation Dragoljub Micunovic stressed that the international community should take part in addressing the Kosovo-Metohija issue considering that it has been internationalised for a long while. He repeated his suggestion that an international conference should be held, under UN patronage, comprising representatives of Serbia, Kosovo and EULEX and which would result in a lasting and sustainable solution.

Micunovic declared that the Council of Europe report should note that human rights were being violated in Kosovo and that there was no rule of law which he illustrated by citing that no murder or missing persons case has undergone due process.

The delegation members stressed that joining the European Union, while keeping its interests in Kosovo-Metohija, was Serbia’s strategic goal, adding that a unilateral solution to the issue would not be sustainable and that the solution must recognise the interests of both parties. Serbia, they said, was dedicated to establishing the appropriate mechanisms to ensure basic European liberties and rights in Kosovo-Metohija and protect its citizens’ rights and freedoms in the north of the Province. They also reminded that several agreements have been signed with the Kosovo side whose realisation was pending. The dialogue is yet to reach an agreement on the regional presentation of Kosovo in accordance with international law and Resolution 1244 on Kosovo-Metohija.

In the meeting, it was deemed that EULEX has failed to take action delineated in the Council of Europe PA Resolution on the trafficking in human organs in Kosovo and its activities contribute to the rising distrust of the citizens in the north of the Province.

PACE rapporteur Bjorn von Sydow advocated a continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and urged all the participants to give active and unequivocal support in the search for a compromise solution to the situation in the north of Kosovo-Metohija. He stressed that the continuation of the current situation was not in the long-term interest of either side and that everybody must make allowances as forced solutions would not result in long-term stability.