(ANSA) - BRUSSELS, NOV 21 - An emergency meeting summoned by
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is ongoing with the
president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the premier of
Kosovo, Albin Kurti. The European diplomacy chief, assisted by
the special envoy for Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, Miroslav
Lajcak, will hold bilateral meetings with the two leaders before
a joint summit. The objective of the meeting is to reach an
agreement preventing a new escalation in the so-called crisis of
license plates, which worsened at the beginning of the month
with the mass resignation of Kosovo Serbs from the country's
institutions. "We need a de-escalation of the situation, to stop
going from the permanent management of the crisis to advance
instead towards a normalization of relations" between Kosovo and
Serbia, wrote Borrell in a tweet on the eve of talks. At the
center of the controversy is Pristina's legislation introducing
the obligation to re-register cars with a Serbian plate,
replacing it with a Kosovan plate. The law provides for a
gradual implementation plan, which came into force on November
1. So far, those who did not follow the rules received a verbal
reprimand, but as of tomorrow, a 150-euros fine will be in
place. Serbians oppose the plan and ask for the respect of the
Brussels accords by Kosovan authorities, with particular
attention on the institution of an association of
Serbian-majority municipalities. Kosovo's government instead
insists on the concept of reciprocity and stresses how the
creation of a single-ethnic agency goes against constitutional
legislation. (ANSA).
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