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Unrecognized Kosovo becomes a member of the Council of Europe.

On 16 ^April 2024, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, chaired by Mr Th. Roussopoulos, approved the report of rapporteur Ms Dora Bakoyannis, which states that Kosovo meets the conditions for accession to the Council of Europe and accepted Kosovo's application for membership in the organization, with 131 votes in favour, 29 against and 11 abstentions. Those voting in favour of the positive proposal include the 4 members of the New Democracy party and all of their German, Turkish and Albanian colleagues.

This proposal was considered by Serbia as a "stab in the back" and Ms. Bakoyannis was criticized, receiving criticism mainly for her submission to foreign pressure and her morals, both from Serbian President A. Vušić, as well as from other high-ranking Serbian officials. The long-standing negative German attitude towards Serbia is noted. It is difficult to believe that Ms. Bakoyannis' proposal was made without the knowledge of the Greek government, as is also evident from the positive vote of the four ND MPs. There were also reasonable reactions from Cyprus.

During the recent General Population Census in Kosovo, there was a Serbian boycott, given that, among other things, data on “war damages” of the “KLA liberation struggle in 1999” were kept. This move may be preparing an appeal to International Bodies for condemnation of Serbia and payment of compensation. Already, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani , during the celebration of the Day of the Missing, stated that after Kosovo’s accession to the Council of Europe, the families of the missing will be able to sue Serbia at the European Court of Human Rights.

Serbia considers that the relevant decision admits to the Council of Europe an entity that is not a UN member state, does not meet basic requirements of the rule of law, human rights and freedoms, implements policies of intimidation and ethnic cleansing against the Serbs of Kosovo, is a source of corruption, drug trafficking, prostitution and other manifestations of organized crime. Furthermore, it violates International Law and circumvents the following three basic conditions of the Brussels Agreement (2013), which the international community and Mrs. Bakoyannis had previously set as a condition for accession:

• Return of all assets of all Serbian Monasteries in Kosovo to the Monasteries to which they belong (many of which are monuments of Byzantine heritage).
• Establishment of an association of Serbian Municipalities in the areas of Kosovo where the Serbian population is overwhelmingly in the majority (99%).
• Repeal the law on expropriations and return all stolen property of the Serb residents of Kosovo.

Of these conditions, only the first has been partially fulfilled and concerns the return of 24 hectares of land to the Serbian Monastery of Visoki Dečani.

Serbia believes that the West is not interested in the rights of the Serbs of Kosovo and that it is openly paying a high price for its relations with Russia. Today, there are approximately 90.000 Serbs remaining in Kosovo after 250.000 were expelled since 1999 and mainly after 2004. Serbia wonders why Ms. Bakoyannis, during her months-long investigation in Kosovo (as she claims), did not detect the daily ethnic attacks, arrests, intimidation, shootings and robberies against Serbs. He has not yet noticed the many-month-long ban on the entry of Serbian goods, the ban on the use of the dinar, the abolition of signs in Cyrillic script in Serb areas, the imposition of donor mayors, obstacles to the freedom of movement of the Serbian Patriarchate, the seizure of property, and the plowing of Serbian cemeteries. In the 2-3 years of Mr. Kurti's rule, twice as many crimes have been committed against Serbs than in the last 9 years.

Serbian complaints were reinforced by the US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Gabriel Escobar when on March 12, 2024, he expressed his strong concern about the situation in Kosovo, only to receive immediate critical reactions from Germany. The status of the province of South Serbia in Kosovo has been regulated by UN Resolution 1244.

The geopolitical picture of the wider region.

The US has long invested in Islam in order to contain Russia in Central Asia, the Middle East and the Balkans and to gain access to Muslim states, with adverse results (e.g. the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack ^against the US, experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, strategic autonomy of Turkey, etc.).

Islam is currently the fastest-growing religion in terms of population, tending to prevail in Africa, dominates the wider Middle East and has very strong pockets in Europe and Russia. Based on demographic and religious statistics, the phenomenon will accelerate in the near future. From decades of experience, Europe has found that those influenced by theocratic concepts do not integrate into Western secular and democratic societies, but on the contrary, they harm social cohesion, maintain distinct cultural pockets with dependence on foreign centers, sustain Islamic terrorism and cause political and social upheavals (e.g. BREXIT, rise of the far right, population change, instability, etc.). Consequently, the ever-increasing migratory flow from Africa and Asia to Europe must be urgently addressed not only with accounting criteria but mainly with assimilation criteria.

Kosovo is recognized as a legal-political entity by about half of the UN states. The majority of UN states do not recognize Kosovo as a state, that is, as an independent and sovereign international political entity.

Both the principle of self-determination and the principle of non-unilateral border changes are part of international law and often cause contradictions. On 15 April 2024, the EU Permanent Representatives Committee demanded that Serbia normalize its relations with the unrecognized Kosovo (essentially to recognize it indirectly), otherwise its accession process to the European Union risks being "frozen" indefinitely. Serbia continues to consider Kosovo an integral part of its territory. The main demand of the Kosovo Serbs remains the creation of a Union of Serbian Municipalities in the north that would enjoy increased autonomy. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Serbia is balancing between the West and Moscow.

The political question that arises concerns the limits of the right to self-determination. The Albanians of Kosovo consider self-determination to be their right but do not recognize the same right for their own compact Serbian minority. The “logic” of self-determination could potentially turn the Balkans, with its many minorities, into an epicenter of instability and conflict. In the Balkans, the disproportionately favorable Western policy in favor of Muslim states has troubled states like Serbia that wish to join the EU and are closer to Western culture. After the Western military interventions of the 1990s in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, Serbia was thrown into the Russian and Chinese embrace as expected. A more balanced Western policy in the Balkans could include Serbia's rights deriving from International Law and the existing Treaties, as well as the faithful observance of the criteria for the entry of new EU member states, without discounts and excesses for the sake of political expediency.

Perhaps the most dangerous front in the Western Balkans is Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is linked to Kosovo. Relations between Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats are deteriorating. The Bosnian Serbs have relative autonomy and their intentions include declaring their independence (which Kosovo did in 2008), which would open Pandora's box. The US has imposed sanctions on the president of the Republika Srbska, Milorad Dodik, "for his separatist rhetoric and dangerous actions, which constitute a threat to peace and stability in the region." The initiative for a draft resolution that establishes July 11 as a day of remembrance for the "Srebrenica genocide" in the region in question - fire (without the consent of the constituent peoples) is surprising to say the ^least . Do its initiators aim for the unity or disintegration of the Balkans? Or would the initiative serve as a counterweight in case Serbia demands compensation for the 1999 bombings?

Turkey is trying to exploit the Muslims of the Balkans and their Ottoman past in order to penetrate and increase its influence. Especially in Albania and Kosovo, the Turkish presence is multifaceted and permanent. In addition to the Muslims, Turkey is improving its relations with a number of Balkan states such as Croatia and Serbia. Kosovo and Albania are developing a series of common practices, as an indirect step towards their future union (part of the vision of "Greater Albania").

It is a fact that the Balkans, in addition to the endogenous sources of instability, are a historical field of competition between Great and Regional Powers in their attempt to penetrate and control this vital region. Foreign influences have historically undermined the fragile status of the Balkans using ethnic, religious and cultural means. Although on the border of Eurasia, the Balkans are considered to be a geographical part of Europe. Their definitive integration into the EU is expected to bring stability, progress and prosperity, but with the following minimum conditions:

* Practical observance of all the rules of a Secular Democratic State of Law.

*Respect for the rights of recognized minorities under the relevant Treaties.

* Ensuring good neighborly relations and resolving individual bilateral disputes.

*Mutual respect for sovereignty, sovereign rights, history and culture of the states in the region. Any arrangements only by mutual consent - agreement.

It is estimated that Russia, based on its national interests, would seek to destabilize the Balkans. Despite the West's integration efforts in order to prevent external infiltrations (e.g. Russia, China, etc.), it must approach the above conditions with strict criteria and demand them before accepting member states so as not to inherit a series of pathologies, problems and instability within itself.

Greek National Interests.

Milosevic is responsible for the dissolution of Yugoslavia and was certainly no “saint”. This fact does not justify the West’s violent and illegal secession of Kosovo from Serbia, as well as the selective Western approach to the issue of human rights in the region. The violent secession of territory legitimizes revisionism. Russia used the Kosovo case for its actions in Georgia and today in Ukraine.

Despite the fact that a large part of the Greek people has special feelings for the Serbs and is favorable towards Serbia, National Interests should not be approached in emotional terms. Without overlooking a series of problems that Serbia has caused in the past in Greece (e.g. Macedonian issue, claims in Thessaloniki, recognition of Skopje with its Constitutional name, close relations with Turkey today, etc.), at a strategic level the two states found themselves in the same camp in two Balkan and two World Wars while there is cultural convergence. Given the Turkish threat, Greece has no interest in creating a “Muslim arc” of Turkish neo-Ottoman influence on its northern borders.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled in 2010 that Kosovo's unilateral decision to declare its independence (2008) is not contrary to International Law. Most and the largest Western states have recognized it. Greece rightly supports the entry of the Western Balkans into the EU, but with compliance with a series of conditions and rules that have been mentioned above. In particular, in the case of Kosovo, our country should not currently support its accession process, as long as it does not recognize it de jure as a state.

The decision to join Kosovo in the Council of Europe ignores the aforementioned actions of Pristina if it does not reward them and constitutes a possible prelude to its recognition as an independent state, since the participation of an unrecognized entity in international organizations is oxymoronic. The recognition of Kosovo as a state by Greece may be perceived as rewarding Albanian policy and ignoring bilateral issues such as the oppression of the Greek national minority, the non-existent issue of the Chams, maritime borders, etc. In this case, the Tirana-Pristina axis is strengthened as well as the existing vision of "Greater Albania" which directly affects vital National Interests. In addition, a dangerous fait accompli is created which could be exploited by Turkey in Cyprus and Thrace. Finally, it will further worsen the already bad bilateral relations with Russia. Creating a precedent in Kosovo, with any recognition of it, would constitute a negative precedent and any shift in the Greek political position would be equivalent to a grandiose "own goal".

Within the EU and beyond Greece, Kosovo is not recognized by Spain, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus , apparently because they face separatist movements on their territory. In any case, the divergence of foreign policy positions between Greece and Cyprus, as in the case of Kosovo's accession to the Council of Europe, is an obvious mistake. Even in the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, Cyprus will vote against admission, while Greece will abstain from voting.

Epilogue

Given the combination of demographic and migration issues in Europe and especially its prospects, the West should review its enlargement policy, showing zero tolerance for violation of the terms and conditions mentioned above. The review should possibly include a more balanced and fair approach to the states of the Balkan region. Otherwise, the current instability will continue and the penetration of third parties will be facilitated. The European interest is not necessarily identical with the interest of individual countries inside or outside it.

The US focus on the Pacific and the downgrading of NATO by the Republicans are testing the future credibility of strong Euro-Atlantic relations. Given the strategic cooperation between the EU and NATO, Europe's unilateral military dependence on NATO presupposes an alignment of EU and US interests. If this is not the case, the qualitative relationship of Euro-Atlantic relations needs rapid change.

Naval Greece has rightly chosen the West and its alliances, given that the West controls the seas but also because it shares the common values ​​of the secular state and Democracy of Greek origin. Our country, however, must have a bipartisan National Strategy stemming from its National Interests. It is this formulated national strategy that is distributed to the Ministries and shapes foreign policy, national defense and security policy, economic and development policy, etc. The lack of this practice increases the risk of wrong choices that may benefit our allies but not Greece. As a status quo country and dogmatically protecting the security of Greek Cypriots, Greece should be fully committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, regardless of pressures from wherever they may come.

11 – May – 2024

Vice Admiral (retd) V. Martzoukos PN

Honorary Commander of the Hellenic Navy

Vice President ELISME