EU says Serbia, Kosovo settle dispute over identity documents

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Serbia and Kosovo have settled an ethnic dispute over the motion of residents throughout their border, European Union overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell mentioned on Saturday.

“We have now a deal,” Borrell mentioned in a tweet. “Kosovo Serbs, in addition to all different residents, will be capable to journey freely between Kosovo & Serbia utilizing their ID playing cards. The EU simply acquired ensures from PM (Albin) Kurti to this finish.”

The dispute stemmed from predominantly ethnic Albanian Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, one thing Belgrade has refused to recognise.

Serbia and Kosovo nonetheless must agree on the hotly contested use of Serbian automotive quantity plates issued within the north of Kosovo the place Serbs defy the federal government in Pristina and see Belgrade as their capital.

Unbiased Kosovo is recognised by the US, all however 5 EU members, however not by a variety of different states together with Serbia’s allies Russia and China.

The newest flareup of tensions between Serbia and Kosovo has been triggered by a directive for Kosovo authorities for native Serbs to modify their automotive quantity plates from Serbian to Kosovo ones from Sept 1.

Serbs from northern Kosovo, responded by setting roadblocks and clashing sporadically with police earlier than NATO peacekeepers oversaw their removing.

The talks between EU and U.S. envoys with the authorities in Serbia and Kosovo have thus far didn’t yield concrete outcomes concerning the automotive quantity plates situation.

Earlier within the day, Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic mentioned he hoped the EU would supply ensures for the private paperwork settlement. He additionally mentioned Serbia can be issuing a “a normal disclaimer” during which it will be written that the usage of id playing cards issued by Pristina was allowed for sensible causes with an purpose of facilitating the liberty of motion however not tantamount to the popularity of Kosovo’s independence.

“Beneath the EU-facilitated Dialogue, Serbia agreed to abolish entry/exit paperwork for Kosovo ID holders and Kosovo agreed to not introduce them for Serbian ID holders,” Borrell tweeted. 

Belgrade and Kosovo’s Serb minority additionally declare entitlement below a 2013 EU-brokered settlement to an affiliation of semi-autonomous majority-Serb municipalities, which Pristina has refused to implement.

(Reporting by John Chalmers and Aleksandar Vasovic in Belgrade; Modifying by Edmund Blair and Ros Russell)