The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, the continent’s leading human rights body, voted on Tuesday to recommend membership for Kosovo, a major milestone in the young country’s international integration since declaring independence from Serbia in 2008, Paralel.Az reports citing PACE website.

The assembly, known as PACE, voted 131 to 29 in favour of Kosovo’s accession, with 11 abstains, over the fierce opposition of Serbia.

Before the voting took place, the representative of Kosovo’s Parliament, Enis Kervan, urged PACE members to vote in favour of the report prepared by Greece’s Dora Bakoyannis.

“Membership of Kosovo in the Council of Europe is … a tangible step towards ensuring access to justice for all our citizens”, said Kervan, a Kosovo MP from the Turkish Democratic Party of Kosovo.