Kosovo’s government has pushed back the deadline for ethnic Serbs to register their vehicles with Kosovo license plates instead of Serbian ones. The new deadline is set for Dec. 15, giving more time for compliance with the new rules. The program offers financial incentives, including tax waivers and registration fee exemptions. After the deadline, vehicles with old number plates will be considered illegal, with violators being fined and having their vehicles towed. Associated Press journalists have witnessed scores of ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo lining up to register their vehicles, with about 3,000 out of an estimated 4,000 vehicles being registered so far.
The issue of vehicle registration has previously sparked tensions, with ethnic Serb officials in four northern municipalities resigning last year in protest of a Kosovo government decision to ban Serbia-issued vehicle license plates. The recent change in attitude among ethnic Serbs in accepting Kosovo license plates has not been officially explained, and tensions with neighboring Serbia remain high, especially after a deadly gun battle in September.
European Union-facilitated talks on normalizing ties between Kosovo and Serbia are at a stalemate. Kosovo broke away from Serbia and declared independence in 2008, a move that Belgrade has refused to recognize. The 1998-1999 war between Serbia and Kosovo resulted in the deaths of about 13,000 people. Kosovo’s government is taking steps to enforce vehicle registration with Kosovo license plates, but the underlying political and ethnic tensions continue to pose a challenge to normalizing relations with Serbia.
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