Authorities in Kosovo: The country's status in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has been advanced

2024-03-24 16:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Authorities in Kosovo: The country's status in the NATO Parliamentary

The Minister of Defense of Kosovo, Ejup Macedonci, and the deputy of the Vetëvendosje Movement, Driton Hyseni, said on Sunday that the Permanent Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO has advanced the status of the Assembly of Kosovo in this body, from the observer to the associate.

Hyseni, at the same time head of the delegation of the Assembly of Kosovo in this Assembly, said that this "is the highest level of presence in the Assembly until full membership of Kosovo in NATO", and that the decision will be formalized through a vote in the Assembly of NATO in the spring session, on May 27, in Sofia.

"With the increase in the level of representation of Kosovo in the NATO Assembly, we will have an expansion of the delegation, greater involvement in the decisions of the Assembly and we will have the right to address amendments and comments for each process and document of which is dealt with by the Assembly, which earlier had to be done through the delegations of other countries, mainly Albania", Hyseni said through a post on Facebook.

Macedonian Minister has considered the decision as a big step towards the security and prosperity of Kosovo and the region.

Radio Free Europe has requested confirmation from NATO, but has not yet received an answer.

For the NATO Parliamentary Assembly

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly consists of 281 delegates from 32 NATO member countries. Each delegation is created based on the population of a country and its parliament.

Delegates are nominated by the parliaments in their countries.

In addition to them, the Assembly also includes delegates from nine associated countries, four from the Mediterranean associated countries, and eight parliamentary observers who participate in the activities, bringing the total number of delegates to 362.

Associate members may participate in almost all committee and subcommittee activities and plenary sessions.

They can introduce resolutions and amendments to resolutions.

They may also serve as special associate rapporteurs in committees to represent their positions on NATO Parliamentary Assembly reports.

However, they are not allowed to vote on the Assembly's reports, resolutions or leadership, nor do they contribute to its budget.

State officials of Kosovo have expressed several times the intention to become part of NATO.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has mentioned that he intends for the country to join the NATO program, Partnership for Peace.

The United States has supported this decision of Kosovo, although they have noted that such membership requires the approval of all the countries of the alliance.

Out of 32 NATO member countries, 28 of them have recognized Kosovo as an independent state, while four (Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain) have not yet.

The Partnership for Peace is a NATO program aimed at building trust between NATO member states and other states in Europe.

Currently, NATO is present in Kosovo through its mission, KFOR./ REL