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From Wednesday, the delegations of Kosovo and Serbia discuss for two days in Brussels about the issue of vehicle license plates.
It’s the last two days, before the expiration of an interim agreement, where the two countries covered with sticky paper the state symbols at the border crossings of vehicles in the respective countries. The European Union, as a mediator in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, has asked both countries to reach a compromise on the issue of car license plates, when there are only two days left from finding a long-term solution to this issue.
The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, stated that “for Kosovo, the principle of reciprocity is indisputable and non-negotiable as the essence of any future solution and the issue of license plates.” “April 21 is the deadline when we should agree on the license plates. I know that the principle of reciprocity will be there, while for the technical aspects we have our technical group, which participates there as well as the chief negotiator, who is talking about how to find a solution. “But what I know is indisputable, non-negotiable is the principle of reciprocity as the essence of any future solution,” said Prime Minister Kurti.
Kurti’s statements immediately provoked the reaction of official Belgrade, which sees these statements as threatening. The Director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petkovi,, said that “such statements are nothing but a premature threat and have nothing to do with respecting and implementing the agreements reached so far.” According to Petkovic, “Belgrade will be the party responsible for maintaining peace and stability and will take care of the Serbs first.” “If he is really committed to building peace and lasting coexistence in Kosovo and beyond, in the Western Balkans, Kurti would have enabled the establishment of the Association of Serb-majority municipalities and thus would have contributed to stabilizing the situation on the ground and “respecting the rights of the Serb people in Kosovo,” Petkovic said.
Stano: The responsibility of the parties to agree on a solution
EU foreign policy chief Peter Stano, for his part, said in Brussels that “the EU has assisted both delegations in identifying solutions, but it is the responsibility of the parties to agree on a solution. . “We expect them to make progress by April 21,” Stano said. According to him, “The European Union wants to remind the parties once again that it is now urgent to reach a common position. “Every license plate agreement requires political flexibility and compromise on both sides,” Stano said. The European Union believes that “there is room for compromise” between Kosovo and Serbia and that there is a possibility of finding a solution that would not only help freedom of movement, but would mark a positive turning point in the Kosovo-Serbia mediated dialogue. precisely from the European Union.
On September 30 last year, with the mediation of the EU, Kosovo and Serbia reached an interim license plate agreement. The interim agreement followed the September 20th decision of the Government of Kosovo that imposed the reciprocity measure on the issue of Serbian license plates. With this measure, every Serbian vehicle entering the territory of Kosovo had to obtain test plates. The idea was for these test plates to be valid for 60 days and cost five euros. Even the citizens of Kosovo who had RKS license plates for the past 10 years when they entered the territory of Serbia, paid about five euros for the test plates, which were valid for 60 days. The reciprocity measure imposed by the Kosovo government on license plates provoked protests and roadblocks by northern Serbs, who last September blocked roads leading to the two border crossings connecting Kosovo and Serbia, Jarinje and Brnjak./DW
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