U.S. and EU Welcome Belgrade-Pristina Agreement

Albin Kurti, Miroslav Lajcak, Josep Borrell, Aleksandar Vucic, Brussels, August 18 2022(BETAPHOTO/European Council)

The United States and the European Union have welcomed the agreement regarding vehicle license plates which Belgrade and Pristina reached in Brussels on Nov. 23, through the EU-facilitated dialogue.

In a U.S. State Department press release issued the same day, spokesman Ned Price wrote that the compact has halted the escalation of tensions. “We further commend the two countries’ agreement to concentrate fully and urgently on normalizing relations under the auspices of the EU-facilitated dialogue. We support the EU-facilitated dialogue as the best path to advance Serbia’s and Kosovo’s European future,” the statement reads. 

EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak published a Twitter post thanking the negotiators responsible for the deal – Petar Petkovic, representing Serbia proper, and Besnik Bislimi, representing Kosovo – for their “constructive engagement.” Lajcak also commended the U.S. administration for its “invaluable support” in securing the arrangement. 

According to EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, on Nov. 23, lead negotiators Petkovic and Bislimi agreed that Serbia proper would cease issuing license plates for cities in Kosovo, while Pristina would stop all activities related to the replacement of vehicle registration documentation issued by Serbia proper. “We reached an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia that will allow to avoid further escalation. We will discuss next steps within the framework of our proposal for normalisation of relations between the two parties,“ Borrell stated.