Serbia takes over CoE chairmanship

Serbia takes over CoE chairmanship

The Serbian foreign policy chief said upon arriving in Strasbourg that he received a letter form CoE Parliamentary Assembly Chairman Rene Van der Linden of what CoE expects from Serbia’s six-month Chairmanship.

“Van der Linden said he expected the CoE Committee of Ministers chaired by Serbia to take into account recommendations outlined in a so-called Junker’s report regarding certain relations between the CoE and the EU. It is advised that the CoE and its bodies with reference to human rights, democracy and other pan-European principles retain supremacy over the EU, since the EU has yet to formally join certain CoE human rights conventions,” Drašković said.

Council of Europe’s Secretary-General Terry Davis said that the upcoming chairmanship was an excellent opportunity for Serbia to present itself as a European leader. He did not wish to explain as to why the Council of Europe cancelled the CoE flag-raising ceremony planned for Saturday in Belgrade.

Davis stressed that Serbia, at the helm of the CoE Committee of Ministers, had an additional obligation to finalize its co-operation with the Hague Tribunal and arrest remaining war crimes fugitives, including Ratko Mladić and Radovan Karadžić.

The Council of Europe is the oldest European organization, whose primary aim is to contribute to the development of democratic principles and protect human rights and individual freedom. Its work is rooted in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Serbia’s Chairmanship of this body sparked off concerns among some Council of Europe officials regarding Serbia’s suitability to run the continent‘s leading human rights watchdog given the election of ultranationalist Tomislav Nikolić as Parliament Speaker and its failure to meet the Hague demands.