Kosovo says more pressure should be placed on Serbia to accept French-German proposal

BELGRADE, Serbia

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti said Tuesday that Serbia should be pressured to accept a German-French proposal to normalize relations.

The proposal is thought to be a way of speeding up Serbia’s EU membership process in exchange for its recognition of Kosovo.

Kurti said Serbia is the one rejecting the proposal.

"We saw the European Union plan supported by France, Germany, and the USA as a good basis for the continuation of the negotiations. At the same time Serbia rejected the plan at the National Security Council,'' Kurti told reporters after meeting mayors in Pristina.

US Undersecretary of State Derek Chollet is expected to visit Serbia and Kosovo later this week.

Chollet will support a comprehensive agreement that needs to be reached on normalizing relations, according to media reports.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in October that Germany and France offered to expedite Serbia’s EU membership process if it recognized Kosovo’s independence.

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, with most UN member states including the US, UK, France, Germany and Türkiye recognizing it as a separate autonomous country from its neighbor. But Belgrade continues to regard it as its territory.

Prior to the latest agreement, the second phase of Kosovo's decision on the re-registration of vehicles had been expected to begin Monday, with the owners of vehicles with Serbian license plates set to be fined €150 ($156).

Brussels has facilitated the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, which is designed to ease tensions and resolve issues, one of the requirements for full-fledged EU membership.