http://english.gazetatema.net/kosovo-region/eu-urges-kosovo-and-serbia-to-lay-the-groundwork-for-a-high-level–i326764
26 PRILL 2022, 06:49KOSOVO & REGION
The European Union hopes there’ll be a meeting this week between chief negotiators from Kosovo and Serbia.
After last week’s failure to reach a deal on the issue of licence plates, a source from within the EU told reporters on Monday that the two sides were invited to carry on with discussions on this issue and other issues.
The same source said the Kosovar side was very much interested to find a permanent solution on the issue of licence plates, while the Serbian side was more interested in preserving the status quo.
Under the current temporary agreement between the two countries, state symbols on licence plates must be covered with stickers when driving through the respective countries. According to the same source, the sides are „very close“ to reaching two other deals concerning energy and missing persons.
The EU says that it’s very important to reach a deal as soon as possible, in order to lay the groundwork for a high level meeting between the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic.
„Both of them have told EU representatives and the Quint (US, France, Germany, Italy and UK) that they’re ready to continue their meetings whenever they’re invited by the EU,“ a European Union official said.
Nonetheless, the EU chief diplomat, Josep Borrel said he will not invite the two sides to such meeting unless there are clear signals that they’re ready to make progress.