EU Presents Final Text Of Proposal For Normalization Of Kosovo-Serbia Ties - Borrell

EU Presents Final Text of Proposal for Normalization of Kosovo-Serbia Ties - Borrell

The European Union has presented the final version of its proposal for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, urging both sides to embark on "serious discussions," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2022) The European Union has presented the final version of its proposal for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, urging both sides to embark on "serious discussions," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday.

"The last version of the text was sent yesterday to Belgrade and today to Kosovo. And now, they have to embark on discussions � on serious discussions � because this is a moment in which there is a big opportunity," Borrell said upon arrival at the EU-Western Balkans summit in Tirana.

The diplomat added that the dispute about license plates was over, which allows the parties to engage in a peaceful dialogue with the proposal put on the table by the bloc.

Tensions flared after Kosovo's authorities required that local Serbs re-register their car plates and feature the EU-standard letter code RKS (Republic of Kosovo) instead of KM (Kosovska Mitrovica), the Serbian identifier. The deadline for re-registration was October 31. Issuing fines for Serbian plates was supposed to start on November 21, but was postponed amid negotiations in Brussels.

On November 23, Borrell announced that Serbia and Kosovo had reached an agreement on the issue of license plates. Serbia agreed to stop issuing license plates with markings indicating Kosovo cities, while the Kosovo-Albanian authorities promised to cease further actions related to the re-registration of vehicles. The head of the permanent EU delegation to Serbia, Emmanuel Jofre, welcomed the agreements and said that from then on the dialogue would focus on the normalization of ties.