Borrell: “We have a deal”: agreement in the license plate dispute between Serbia and Kosovo

Borrell: “Got a deal”
Agreement in license plate dispute between Serbia and Kosovo

Serbs living in Kosovo continue to use old Serbian license plates, although these are no longer recognized in Kosovo. The formality has a certain explosive force, observers fear a violent escalation. Now the EU is reporting a mediation success.

Negotiators have reached a compromise in the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo over the use of illegal Serbian license plates. “We have a deal!” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter following EU-organized talks in Brussels. Under EU supervision, the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia had agreed on measures to avoid further escalation.

According to Borrell, Serbia will stop issuing number plates related to Kosovan cities and Kosovo will not take any further measures related to the re-registration of vehicles with old Serbian number plates. Borrell will invite the parties over the next few days to discuss next steps.

The government of Kosovo had recently postponed planned fines for using illegal Serbian license plates. Almost all ethnic Serbs in a compact Serb settlement area in northern Kosovo have license plates from 1999, although these are no longer valid as of November 1st. At that time the region still belonged to Serbia. They are supported in their refusal by the Serbian government, which has not recognized Kosovo’s independence since 2008. Even some EU states, such as Spain and Greece, do not see Kosovo as an independent state.

The Balkan country, whose territory once belonged to Serbia, is now almost exclusively inhabited by Albanians. The conflict over license plates has fueled tensions between Belgrade and Pristina. At the beginning of the month, almost all Serb officials in the Kosovan police force resigned in protest against the regulation.

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