Status: 11/21/2022 7:15 p.m
A bitter dispute is raging between Serbia and Kosovo over a new car license plate regulation in Kosovo. Although the EU mediated, negotiations failed. EU foreign policy chief Borrell warned against violence.
Despite hours of negotiations mediated by the EU, Serbia and Kosovo have not resolved their bitter dispute over car number plates. According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovan Prime Minister Albin Kurti could not have agreed on a compromise. He warned of a “dangerous security vacuum” in an already tense situation.
Kosovo wants to oblige around 10,000 members of the Serbian minority to no longer drive with Serbian license plates, but to accept those of the Republic of Kosovo. However, the Serbs in northern Kosovo do not recognize the authority of the government in Pristina. They continue to use license plates from 1999, when the region was still part of Serbia.
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but is still considered a breakaway territory by the Serbian government. For its part, Serbia does not recognize the license plates introduced by Kosovo after the 2008 declaration of independence.
Many government employees resigned
Violence has erupted over the issue, especially in the north of the former Serbian province. Criminal gangs set fire to the few Kosovo Serbs who had already registered their vehicles.
A few days ago, hundreds of ethnic Serbs resigned from the civil service – such as police officers, judges and prosecutors – after the Kosovo government insisted on changing their license plates. Under pressure from the US and the EU, a deadline of September 1 was originally set for a solution to the issue.
According to Borrell, the compromise proposed by the EU stipulated, among other things, that the authorities in Kosovo should suspend measures to enforce the rules. Serbia, on the other hand, should commit to not issuing new license plates to people living in Kosovo.
According to Borrell, Vucic agreed to a compromise
Borrell held both sides responsible for the failure of the talks. However, he added that Vucic had agreed with an EU compromise proposal, while Kurti had not.
Borrell called on Kosovo not to press ahead with the plans until an amicable solution was reached. Since Monday, the Kosovar police have been able to impose fines on Kosovo Serbs with “false” license plates.