Kosovo and Serbia reach deal on border crossings dispute

Both sides have made concessions

Italian Carabinieri patrol on the bridge over the Ibar river in ethnically divided Mitrovica. AFP

A deal has been agreed between Serbia and Kosovo in a dispute over identity documents, the European Union said on Saturday.

The EU-brokered agreement allows free movement for each nationality between the two countries.

Serbia had agreed to abolish its entry-exit document for Kosovo identity card holders, and Kosovo agreed to not introduce the document for Serbian ID holders, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

“Kosovo Serbs, as well as all other citizens, will be able to travel freely between Kosovo and Serbia using their ID cards,” he said.

Kosovo won independence from Serbia in 2008. However, Serbia legally still considers Kosovo an integral part of its territory.

Tensions soared when Kosovo declared that Serbian identity documents and vehicle licence plates, still used in the country’s north where there are Serb sympathies, would no longer be valid in Kosovo’s territory.

Kosovo said it was responding with reciprocity to Serbia. But Kosovo Serbs reacted furiously, blocking roads in the Serb-dominated north.

Belgrade accused Kosovo of pressuring minority Serbs in the north, who largely reject Kosovo-issued documents in defiance of Kosovo’s statehood and hold Serbian ones.

Mr Borell has led diplomatic efforts to defuse concerns that the problems could escalate amid the war in Ukraine and Serbia’s close ties with Russia

In the past two weeks, EU officials mediated a meeting between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Brussels.

Kosovo President Vlosa Osmani said on Facebook that the deal meant “reciprocity and equality”.

“Freedom of movement is the foundation of democratic societies and European values,” she said, adding that Kosovo will continue to strive for “mutual recognition.”

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Vucic said that if the ID deal was reached, Serbia would issue a “general disclaimer” on the boundary, saying the use of Kosovo ID cards is enabled for “practical reasons and freedom of movement,” and does not mean Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo or its future status.

However, he said the Serbian car registration plates that many Kosovo Serbs still use remains an unresolved issue.

Ethnic Serbs account for 5 per cent of Kosovo's 1.8 million population, which is 90 per cent ethnic Albanian. Most of the Serb population is in the north.