The government in Pristina implemented the decision taken yesterday, Thursday, January 4, for the free entry into Kosovo of vehicles bearing Serbian license plates without covering the Serbian state symbols with a sticker.

Until now, vehicles from either Kosovo or Serbia could only cross the border if they used stickers to cover the symbols on the license plates.

It is noted that the Serbian government took a similar decision on December 25 and entered into force on January 1, 2024.

“Applying the principle of reciprocity, as a condition for the regulation of relations between independent states, we have decided to allow free entry to vehicles coming from the other side of the border and bearing Serbian license plates,” said Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. He added, however, that “if it is established that the Serbian border authorities are returning the stickers, so will Kosovo.”

The license plates of the vehicles were the cause of an intense confrontation between Belgrade and Pristina which lasted for about two and a half years. Demonstrations by Serbs in northern Kosovo, roadblocks, clashes and even threats of war set the scene for the crisis caused by the license plates.

The armed incident in the village of Baniska on 24 September, when a Kosovar policeman and three Serbs were killed, although not caused by the signs, worked catalytically in the issue of vehicles as well. Belgrade has tacitly accepted the implementation of the Kosovo government’s decision to change Serbian number plates carried by vehicles in Northern Kosovo. Thus, until the end of 2023 and in a period of two months, about five thousand vehicles changed the Serbian plates and “wore” Kosovo plates. This development also facilitated the resolution of the issue of vehicle traffic by abolishing the measure of concealing the state’s license plates.