“I am very pleased that the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia, under EU mediation, have agreed on measures to avoid further escalation and to focus fully on normalizing their relations,” Borrell wrote. “Serbia will stop issuing number plates with the names of Kosovar cities and Kosovo will refrain from any further action regarding the re-registration of vehicles.” The two sides are expected to discuss further steps in the coming days.
The authorities in Kosovo began implementing a regulation on November 1st, which aims to replace Serbian license plates with Kosovar ones by April 21st. Initially, the Kosovan police only warned car owners, now they should also be punished. The conflict had already escalated dangerously in the summer following the Kosovar government had questioned the validity of Serbian number plates in the country for the first time. Kosovo Serbs then blocked the border crossings to Serbia.
Kosovo, inhabited mostly by Albanians, unilaterally declared its independence from Serbia in early 2008. Belgrade does not recognize this move and continues to regard Kosovo as a southern Serbian province, as do the Serbs living there. Kosovo was placed under UN administration in 1999 to protect the Albanians living there from attacks by Serbian security forces.
