Head of the Serbian government’s team for dialogue with Pristina Borislav Stefanovic said today that solutions made in the fifth round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina in Brussels enable Serbia to avoid explicit or implicit recognition of unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo.

Stefanovic said at a press conference held at the Serbian government that the agreement made yesterday with the Pristina team will improve the situation of Serbs living south of River Ibar and that the Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija will have full freedom of movement.

He underlined that in the future, citizens in Kosovo will be able to take either KS licence plates (so-called UNMIK licence plates which Belgrade considers status- neutral) or RKS licence plates (issued by Pristina authorities with the state coat-of-arms).

The vehicles with UNMIK licence plates will be allowed to travel freely through the rest of Serbia, while those with license plates with Kosovo coat-of-arms will have to take temporary licence plates, Stefanovic said, adding that the car insurance will be charged at the beginning by day, and that he expects the signing of agreement with insurance companies.

He pointed out that Serbia will not stop performing any of its functions, which means that it will continue issuing personal documents and licence plates to citizens from Kosovo.

The exchange of birth registries enables citizens south of River Ibar to have full legal security and to use data through a unique registry of citizens which we will continue to keep, Stefanovic said.

He added that negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina are a separate process from Serbia’s EU accession but that despite that, the success of negotiations can have an impact on the speed of Serbia’s accession to the EU.

This process is separate, but it creates a better atmosphere and allows us to continue European integration with less pressure and political influences.

He voiced hope that the two sides will resolve the cadastre issue in the course of this month.