With Brussels mediation, Serbia and Kosovo reach agreement on license plates

(Patria) - EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell announced on Wednesday evening that an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo regarding license plates has been reached. 

"With great pleasure I can announce that the chief negotiators of Kosovo and Serbia, with EU mediation, have agreed on measures to avoid further escalation and to fully concentrate on the proposal for the normalization of their relations," he stated.

Serbia will stop issuing license plates with the names of Kosovo cities, and Kosovo will suspend further actions regarding vehicle re-registration.

"I will invite the parties in the coming days to discuss the next steps," he added.

The chief negotiators of Belgrade and Pristina, Petar Petković and Besnik Bisljimi, spoke in Brussels with the European Union's Special Representative for the Dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák.

Borrell, in a statement provided to the media, adds that "the EU will ensure that key issues and principles related to normalization are addressed in the context of the proposal" and adds that the two sides "understand that all previous dialogue agreements must be implemented."

He will, as announced, in the coming days invite Serbia and Kosovo to discuss the next steps within the framework of the proposal "with the aim of presenting the results of the next Special Group for Normalization with Kosovo and the next update of Chapter 35 for Serbia."

"In the event of obstruction by either party, the EU as mediator may suspend the process," Borrell stated.

Borrell announces that he and the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák, will continue "to facilitate the process of normalizing relations and regularly inform EU member states and partners about the progress made by the parties."