As of: 08/27/2022 9:23 p.m
According to EU foreign policy chief Borrell, the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo over entry documents has been settled. All citizens should now be able to travel freely between the two countries with their respective ID cards.
According to the EU, Serbia and Kosovo have settled a dispute over the validity of their citizens’ identity papers when crossing the border.
“We have an agreement,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. During the dialogue brokered by the EU, Serbia had agreed to abolish special entry and exit documents for people with Kosovo passports. Kosovo, in turn, has promised not to introduce such papers for people with Serbian passports. All citizens would now be able to travel freely between Kosovo and Serbia with their respective ID cards, Borrell said.
Borrell spoke of a “European solution”. The Spanish politician also wrote that he congratulated Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti for this decision. Kurti also responded shortly afterwards on Twitter: “Reciprocity should be the spirit of fundamental solutions.” At first there was no reaction from Vucic.
Controversial entry rules
The controversial entry rules for Serbs were due to come into force on September 1st. Originally, they should have been in effect since August 1st. However, under pressure from the US and the EU, the plans were postponed by a month. The goal of the Kosovan government was to treat Serbs crossing the border like Kosovars were treated by Serbia.
For almost a decade and a half, Serbia has refused to recognize the declaration of independence of its former province of Kosovo. Muslim Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008. Germany and a majority of the member states of the United Nations recognize the republic. Around five percent of the 1.8 million Kosovars are Serbs.
In the past there have been blockades and clashes between the Serb minority and security forces in the border area. The EU’s mediation between the former wartime enemies had made little progress in recent years.