Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Commission for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced on Saturday that Serbia and Kosovo have reached an agreement on the border crossing dispute between them.
“We have an agreement. From now on, Kosovo Serbs and all other citizens can travel freely between Serbia and Kosovo with their identity documents,” Borrell wrote on Twitter, adding that the European Union, which is mediating between the two parties, had received guarantees from Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti on compliance with this. the agreement.
During the meetings of the so-called Belgrade-Pristina dialogue with the aim of restoring the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo, it was concluded that Serbia will cancel exit and entry documents that were mandatory for Kosovo to cross the border, and in return, Kosovo undertakes not to impose such an obligation on Serbs – Borrell explained the details of the agreement .
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti held talks in Brussels earlier this week with the mediation of Borrell.
The two countries have yet to come to an agreement in the recently re-ignited dispute over license plates. Over the summer, Kosovo suggested that from September cars with Serbian license plates would not be allowed into the country, and would have to request a temporary Kosovar license plate upon entry. Upon learning of the planned measure, Kosovo Serbs erected roadblocks near the border posts, which were later removed.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has refused to recognize it since and still considers the Albanian-majority territory its southern province. For this reason, Serbia has so far refused to recognize the Kosovo documents and demanded that they be replaced by the Serbian language. On the other hand, Albin Kurti said that everything depends on mutual recognition, that is, if Serbia recognizes the independence of Kosovo, the attitude of the Kosovar residents will also change.
Negotiations aimed at normalizing relations between the two sides began in 2013, but collapsed in 2018 because Kosovo imposed a 100 percent tariff on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. This procedure was later withdrawn. Resolving the relationship is also important for both parties because it is the only way to continue the EU integration that has begun. The United States and all but five EU member states recognize Kosovo’s independence, but many others, including Russia and China, do not.
