Kosovo and Serbia reach deal on Exit-Entry documents

28 August 2022

The American envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, and the European Union’s special envoy for the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajcak, held meetings between Kosovo and Serbia from August 22 to August 28, where an agreement was reached on license plates.

Borrell had said that this agreement will enable the citizens of Kosovo and Serbia to move with their respective identity cards.

“Within the dialogue mediated by the EU, Serbia has agreed to remove the entry-exit documents for citizens with identity cards of Kosovo and Kosovo has agreed not to issue such documents to citizens who possess identity cards of Serbia. Kosovo Serbs, but also all citizens, will be able to move freely between Kosovo and Serbia using their identity cards. The EU has just received a guarantee from Prime Minister Kurti on this matter”

According to Borrell, this was a European solution.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, had said that with the agreement reached, it will be possible for the citizens of Kosovo and those of Serbia to cross the border crossings between the two states “without obstacles”.

“The spirit of principled and equal talks in Brussels is reciprocity. Normalizing solutions must have reciprocity inside, as good neighborly relations imply it”

On August 27, the president of Serbia, Aleksandër Vučić, had declared that Serbia would accept Kosovo’s documents, only if a statement was issued at the border stating that this would not mean recognition of Kosovo’s independence from Serbia. But, as for license plates, Vucic had said that this decision will start to be implemented on September 1, since Kosovo and Serbia have not reached, as he said, a “compromise solution”.

License plates such as KM, PR, PZ, UR and the like are considered illegal by Kosovo, and Pristina requires owners of cars with such license plates to convert them to RKS within a period of 61 days. Serbia has requested that these license plates be replaced with the former KS license plates, which have a neutral status to the citizenship of Kosovo, but this has been opposed by Prime Minister Kurti. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, August 30, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, after the meeting with the opposition parties, LDK and AAK, said that from September 1, the campaign for the conversion of license plates to RKS continues.