Vucinac Kurt tomorrow in Brussels for plates, Washington seeks agreement

The US State Department told Free Europe Radio that they agree with the European Union that recent developments are disturbing and that they jeopardise the progress achieved in dialogue.

These US reactions come a day before Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, meet with the European Union's mediation on the issue of Serbian illegal plates used in northern Kosovo.

All sides must take steps to reduce tensions and ensure peace and stability. Actions and rhetoric that increase the possibility of violence endanger the lives of innocent persons and international peacekeeping forces on the ground”, an American State Department spokesman told Radio Free Europe.

Authorities in Kosovo have announced that from November 22nd they will launch the pronunciation of fines of 150 euros for drivers in the north who have cars with license plates issued by Serbia, which Kosovo considers illegal.

The United States and the European Union have repeatedly asked the Government to extend the deadline for reregistering vehicles with illegal license plates.

Serbs in northern Kosovo, where they make up the majority, have warned that they will reject pronunciation and fines, as they have rejected the government's entire decision to license plates.

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, said on November 20th that he is not optimistic about Brussels.

I'm going to Brussels. I don't think there's anything we can do, but I'm going to not give a reason for Serbia being accused of not wanting to do anything”, Vuciq said on November 20th in an interview for Prva television.

He reiterated Serbia's conditions for forming the Association of Serb majority municipalities and cancelling and decision on license plates.

Kosovo and Serbia have reached agreement on establishing the Association of Serb majority municipalities in 2013, within the dialogue on normalising relations, mediated by the EU. In 2015, the parties have signed the Agreement on the principles for forming this association. That same year, the Constitutional Court of Kosovo has concluded that some provisions of this agreement are not in harmony with the constitutional spirit and that they must be harmonised.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti opposes forming single-ethnic association.

Regarding the license plate, he has acknowledged on November 18th that Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister Besnik Bislimi is in constant communication with Brussels to resolve the issue of license plates.

According to him, new negotiations will be seen in the coming days.

There are 9,000 cars with Serbian illegal license plates. This is less than 10 per cent of cars owned by Serbs in Kosovo, so it is an extreme minority of Serbs who are rejecting these plates. We've had a difference in access and implementation sequences, only with correction”, Kurt said.

In sign of opposition over the Kosovo Government's decision, from November 5th Serbs have left Kosovo institutions in four municipalities in the north: Northern Mitrovica, Leposaviq, Zubin Potok and Zvecan.

Even the European top diplomat, Josep Borrell, has said that November 21st “should not find us without agreement on license plates” and the current situation created for the license plates has considered the most serious “crisis in the last ten years”.

Kosovo and Serbia, with EU mediation, have been in negotiations on normalising relations since 2011. The expectations are for them to conclude with a legally binding agreement. But despite some agreements reached, the two sides' positions remain far apart.

Serbs in the north had become part of Kosovo institutions following the first agreement the two countries have reached on normalising relations in 2013. / REL