Situation in Northern Kosovo Calm but Tense

Jarinje

After on Sept. 20 special Kosovo police units were deployed at the Jarinje, Brnjak and Merdare administrative crossings with Serbia to prevent the entry of vehicles with Serbian or status-neutral KS license plates, the situation in Northern Kosovo in the morning of Sept. 22 is calm but tense. The Serbs from Leposavic and Zubin Potok are still protesting the measure.

According to the RTS public service, the people from central Serbia working in Kosovo are crossing the administrative line on foot, boarding the vehicles sent for them to travel further on.

According to the Kosovo Ministry of the Interior, over 1,000 temporary RKS license plates were issued at the Merdare crossing on Sept. 21.

The authorities in Pristina explained the move as a “reciprocal measure,” because Serbia does not allow vehicles with the RSK, i.e. the Republic of Kosovo, plates to enter central Serbia, issuing them temporary plates at the crossings.

The vehicles of the Serbs from Northern Kosovo have so far had license plates issued by the Serbian authorities, either with abbreviations of the names of the cities in Kosovo or the status-neutral KS plates, which as of Sept. 20 the Kosovo authorities no longer recognize. An agreement on the recognition of the said plates for a period of five years was signed in Brussels in 2016. By Sept. 15 this year, when it expired, no new agreement had been reached.