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The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, at the level of chief negotiators, will continue on Friday, May 13, in Brussels.
As before, the delegations of Kosovo and Serbia will first have bilateral meetings with the European Union’s special envoy for dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, and then the parties can have a joint meeting.
The Kosovo delegation is led by Besnik Bislimi, while the Serbian delegation is led by Petar Petkovi..
According to sources within the European Union, discussions will continue on topics that were discussed three weeks ago, including the issue of car license plates.
The parties have not reached an agreement on a long-term solution to the issue, although the six-month mandate for the working groups to reach an agreement has expired.
Following the last meeting, the EU issued a statement saying that until there are no new agreements, the sticker regime will continue to be implemented.
According to EU officials, the six-month mandate was for the working groups and not to reach a final solution.
Now this issue will be discussed at the level of chief negotiators.
The interim agreement between the two states on license plates, reached on September 30 last year, provides for the sticking of state symbols on car license plates when they cross into each other’s territory.
This agreement came after several days of unrest in northern Kosovo, where some local Serbs blocked the road, to oppose the then decision of the Government of Kosovo for reciprocity measures.
In addition to the issue of license plates, the issue of waste and energy is expected to be discussed at the meetings. Both of these issues in the EU are said to be “very close to a solution” but the “final step” must be taken.
The EU and the international community have reiterated that they expect both sides to refrain from any unilateral action that could jeopardize security on the ground and further complicate progress in the dialogue.
The EU representative for dialogue, Miroslav Lajçak, faced with the lack of success in this process, is trying to reach an agreement soon in order to pave the way for a high-level meeting between the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vuçi..
The two leaders have not met – as part of the dialogue – since last summer.
Days ago, Kurti and Vucic met at an informal dinner in Berlin.
The chief European diplomat, Josep Borrell, has previously said that he will not invite the leaders to high-level meetings, until there are clear signals that in such a meeting concrete progress will be achieved.
The dialogue for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, mediated by the European Union, started in 2011.
The parties have reached dozens of agreements, but most of them have not been implemented on the ground.REL
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