EU fails to defuse tense situation between Serbia and Kosovo
2 years, 1 month ago

EU fails to defuse tense situation between Serbia and Kosovo

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — The European Union’s top diplomat held eight hours of fruitless talks Monday with the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo and blamed them for their failure to settle a dispute over vehicle license plate. Amid rising tensions between the Balkans neighbors, the EU’s high representative, Josep Borrell, invited Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to Brussels for emergency talks. “I now expect Kosovo to immediately suspend further stages related to the re-registration of vehicles in north Kosovo,” Borrell said, adding that he asked Serbia to suspend issuing new license plates with acronyms of Kosovo cities. Stoltenberg said “escalation must be avoided,” adding that the NATO-led mission in Kosovo, known as KFOR, “remains vigilant.” ___ Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this story.

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History of this topic

What is behind renewed tensions between Serbia and Kosovo?
1 year, 2 months ago

What is behind renewed tensions between Serbia and Kosovo?

Associated Press  

BELGRADE, Serbia — Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo flared anew over the weekend when some 30 heavily armed Serbs barricaded themselves in an Orthodox monastery in northern Kosovo, setting off a daylong gunbattle with police that left one officer and three attackers dead. Kosovo’s majority ethnic Albanians, most of whom are Muslim, meanwhile, view Kosovo as their country and accuse …

Talks between Serbia and Kosovo break down again. The EU says their hopes of joining are at risk
1 year, 3 months ago

Talks between Serbia and Kosovo break down again. The EU says their hopes of joining are at risk

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — Kosovo and Serbia on Thursday failed yet again to make progress in talks aimed at improving their long-strained relations, and the European Union’s top diplomat warned that the lack of progress could hurt their hopes of joining the bloc. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who supervised the talks in Brussels, blamed the latest breakdown on Kosovo Prime …

Serbia, Kosovo leaders back EU plan, top diplomat says
1 year, 9 months ago

Serbia, Kosovo leaders back EU plan, top diplomat says

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have given tacit approval to a European Union- Speaking alone at a news conference after a series of meetings in Brussels, Borrell told reporters that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti “have today agreed that no further discussions are needed for the European Union proposal.” Both countries want …

Explained: Why the EU is keen on resolving the border issues between Serbia and Kosovo
1 year, 11 months ago

Explained: Why the EU is keen on resolving the border issues between Serbia and Kosovo

Firstpost  

The necessity of finding a lasting settlement in 2023 that may result in mutual recognition between the two states has generated significant concerns due to the worries of another bloody war in Europe The Russian invasion of Ukraine serves as a sombre reminder that Europe’s unresolved issues can reignite. In December 2022, for example, Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić openly endorsed …

Tensions in north Kosovo – whose agenda does the flare-up serve?
2 years ago

Tensions in north Kosovo – whose agenda does the flare-up serve?

Al Jazeera  

Ethnic fractures in the Western Balkans, including in Kosovo’s Serb-populated area, create trouble for the EU and US. “I am sure that the President of Serbia will keep in mind as he considers what sort of military steps – as unwise as they would be – he may be contemplating in northern Kosovo.” KFOR peacekeepers have played a critical role …

What is behind the violence between Serbia and Kosovo?
2 years ago

What is behind the violence between Serbia and Kosovo?

Al Jazeera  

Tensions rise in the Balkans with attacks on police, mass police resignations and delayed elections. What appears to be a simple row about car licence plates has amplified already strained relations between Serbia and Kosovo. He was one of 600 officers who resigned last month in protest against Kosovo’s plans to ban Serbian licence plates. Serbia’s President Aleksander Vucic blames …

‘Giant step forward’: Kosovo, Serbia reach deal on vehicle plates
2 years, 1 month ago

‘Giant step forward’: Kosovo, Serbia reach deal on vehicle plates

Al Jazeera  

Kosovo, Serbia agree on an EU-brokered deal to end a dispute over vehicle licensing plates. Kosovo and Serbia have reached a deal to end a long-running dispute over vehicle licence plates that the European Union had warned could trigger ethnic violence. The latest dispute between the Western Balkan neighbours erupted after the government in Pristina attempted to require its Serb …

EU official: Kosovo, Serbia reach a deal on vehicle plates
2 years, 1 month ago

EU official: Kosovo, Serbia reach a deal on vehicle plates

Associated Press  

PRISTINA, Kosovo — The European Union’s top diplomat on Wednesday said Kosovo and Serbia have reached a deal on a dispute over vehicle number plates, defusing rising tensions between the two Western Balkan neighbors. EU high representative Josep Borrell posted in his social media page that Kosovo’s and Serbia’s negotiators “have agreed to avoid further escalation and to fully concentrate …

EU raises alarm over escalating Serbia, Kosovo car plates dispute
2 years, 1 month ago

EU raises alarm over escalating Serbia, Kosovo car plates dispute

Al Jazeera  

The Balkans neighbours are at odds over Pristina’s move to match Belgrade’s ban on Kosovo licence plates. The European Union’s foreign policy chief has warned of “escalation and violence” after emergency talks between Kosovo and Serbia failed to resolve their long-running dispute over car licence plates used by the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo. “I think that there is an …

Kosovo pauses Serbian car plate scheme after Brussels talks fail
2 years, 1 month ago

Kosovo pauses Serbian car plate scheme after Brussels talks fail

Al Jazeera  

The delay helps calm tensions in northern Kosovo, a day after EU-mediated talks between Belgrade and Pristina failed. Kosovo’s prime minister, accused by Brussels of scuppering talks to resolve a row over a scheme to replace Serbian car number plates, has delayed the plan for two days. The dispute erupted after Kosovo said the country’s ethnic Serbs would be penalised …

EU warns Serbia, Kosovo against returning to the past
2 years, 1 month ago

EU warns Serbia, Kosovo against returning to the past

Associated Press  

BRUSSELS — The European Union warned Serbia and Kosovo on Monday that they are on the edge of a precipice and must resolve their dispute over vehicle license plates before next week or face the prospect of a return to their violent past. Long-simmering tensions between Serbia and its former province mounted in recent weeks over the Kosovo government’s decision …

Serbs in northern Kosovo quit state jobs in licence plate protest
2 years, 1 month ago

Serbs in northern Kosovo quit state jobs in licence plate protest

Al Jazeera  

The long-running licence plate row is stoking ethnic tensions between Serbia and its former province of Kosovo. Minority Serbs in northern Kosovo say they are quitting their posts in state institutions, including the government, police and courts, to protest against the use of new vehicle licence plates issued by Pristina. The long-running licence plate row has stoked tensions between Serbia …

Tension brews anew between Kosovo, Serbia over car plates
2 years, 1 month ago

Tension brews anew between Kosovo, Serbia over car plates

Associated Press  

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Serbia said Tuesday it has placed its troops on the border with Kosovo on a heightened state of alert over a row about car license plates that has threatened to further escalate tensions between the two Balkan foes. Earlier, authorities warned members of the ethnic Serbian minority living in Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, to replace …

Kosovo expands timeline for Serbs to comply with car plates
2 years, 1 month ago

Kosovo expands timeline for Serbs to comply with car plates

Associated Press  

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo’s authorities have apparently bowed to international pressure and softened their decision to ban illegal vehicle license plates, a move that could avoid riots by minority Serbs over the issue. U.S. Department of State spokesman Ned Price said that “an extension of the timeline is in the interest of making progress on the EU-facilitated dialogue to normalize …

Kosovo’s car licensing rule resisted by ethnic Serbs takes effect
2 years, 3 months ago

Kosovo’s car licensing rule resisted by ethnic Serbs takes effect

Al Jazeera  

Kosovo, Serbia and NATO peacekeepers are bracing for a new wave of ethnic tensions, after a two-month implementation period begins for a controversial move to oblige ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo to start using car licence plates issued by the government in Pristina. Kosovo, which is predominantly ethnic Albanian, has sought to compel about 50,000 ethnic Serbs to accept Pristina’s …

Serbia, Kosovo leaders hold talks in Brussels amid tensions
2 years, 4 months ago

Serbia, Kosovo leaders hold talks in Brussels amid tensions

Al Jazeera  

EU-brokered talks come after tensions spike between two wartime rivalling countries over documents, car number plates. The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have met in Brussels for another European Union-mediated attempt to resolve lingering issues between the two wartime rivalling states that have spiked tensions in the Balkans. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, speaking before Thursday’s meeting between Serbian …

What’s behind the renewed tensions between Serbia and Kosovo?
2 years, 4 months ago

What’s behind the renewed tensions between Serbia and Kosovo?

Al Jazeera  

Ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have protested against new identity document and car registration plate requirements. Tension has flared between Kosovo’s ethnic Serbs and the government in Pristina – a worrying development 14 years after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia. Kosovo proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008 but ethnic Serbs who make up the majority in the northern region of the …

Tensions ease after Kosovo delays new rules for numberplates, ID cards
2 years, 4 months ago

Tensions ease after Kosovo delays new rules for numberplates, ID cards

ABC  

Calm has returned to Kosovo's North Mitrovica after ethnic tensions erupted over a controversial order on vehicle licence plates and identity cards. Key points: Officials had declared that, as of August 1, they would resume a requirement for vehicles entering from Serbia to replace their licence plates with Kosovar ones For the past 11 years, the reverse was required by …

Kosovo gov’t offices targeted as tensions soar with Serbia
3 years, 3 months ago

Kosovo gov’t offices targeted as tensions soar with Serbia

Al Jazeera  

Kosovo PM accuses Serbia of trying to ‘provoke a serious international conflict’ after vehicle registration offices near border are attacked. Prime Minister Albin Kurti of Kosovo has accused neighbouring Serbia of trying to “provoke a serious international conflict” after two vehicle registration offices near their border were attacked. Ethnic Kosovo Serbs have blocked the Kosovo-Serbia border with trucks since Monday, …

Kosovo deploys police, Serbs protest amid border tension
3 years, 3 months ago

Kosovo deploys police, Serbs protest amid border tension

Al Jazeera  

Tensions have soared at the border between Kosovo and Serbia as Kosovo deployed additional police to implement a rule to remove Serbian licence plates from cars entering Kosovo, while Serbs protested the move. Serbia’s police have been taking off registration plates from Kosovo-registered cars entering Serbia for years, and the latest move by Kosovo authorities appears to be a tit-for-tat …

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