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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Serbia hands over chairmanship over CoE Committee of Ministers to Slovakia

Strasbourg, 12 November 2007

Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremic handed over the chairmanship over the Council of Europe (CoE) Committee of Ministers to Slovak Foreign Minister Jan Kubis.

Vuk Jeremic and Jan Kubis

Author: Fonet

At a special meeting of the CoE Committee of Ministers of 47 member states in Strasbourg, Jeremic summed up Serbian six-month chairmanship, which was according to CoE Secretary-General Terry Davis and other European officials one of the most successful ones in the previous decade.

The Minister listed as major successes of Serbia’s chairmanship the beginning of implementation of the Memorandum on understanding between the EU and CoE, proclamation of October 10 for the European Day against Death Penalty, work on harmonisation and implementation of European conventions, including that on human rights and development of institutional efficiency. The Serbian chairmanship under the slogan “One Europe – Our Europe” set as priorities promotion of CoE major values, such as human rights, rule of law, strengthening mechanisms for implementation and monitoring conventions.

The priorities were also fight against terrorism, corruption, organised crime and trafficking in drugs and people, as well as building a more tolerant and humane Europe and improving cooperation between the CoE and the Western Balkans, Jeremic added.

The Minister said that the events organised by the CoE were attended by the Serbian top officials, including President Boris Tadic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, and Serbia was visited by many CoE officials. In the previous period, CoE bodies, such as the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly established very active cooperation, Jeremic pointed out.

Jeremic especially pointed to the importance of European integration and respect for European values in the Western Balkans, as well as in the resolution of the future status of Kosovo-Metohija. The Minister warned that December 10, when the mediating troika of the Contact Group is supposed to submit a report on the negotiation process to the UN Secretary-General, should not be viewed as a deadline for termination of negotiations, but as a date for evaluation of the progress achieved. According to him, imposing Kosovo's independence in case a solution is not found, would not be in line with European principles and would not be a solution. The European principle of subsidiary offers a solution for centuries old tensions between the issues of communities and sovereignty, through dedication to co-existence and the use of tools such as trust, cooperation, patience, compromise, consensus and creativity, the Minister said. Jeremic said that Serbia believes that the European solution of the future status of Kosovo-Metohija is in the partnership for future, under the common sovereign roof. That is why Belgrade offers to Kosovo Albanians institutionally unlimited autonomy, with very broad self-government powers, which would at the same time preserve Serbia's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Jeremic explained.