Kosovo-Serbia Licence Plate Dispute Proves Hard to Resolve

"The EU assisted both delegations in identifying solutions, but it is the responsibility of both parties to agree on a solution. We expect them to make progress by 21 April," Stano told BIRN in written answers.

The EU's envoy for Serbia-Kosovo dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak was in Belgrade on Wednesday, meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. According to a press release issued after the meeting, they talked about the implementation of the 2013 Brussels agreement between Serbia and Kosovo but there was no mention of any deal on licence plates.

Violeta Haxholli from the Kosovo Democratic Institute think-tank told BIRN that the two countries "have not made any progress in the negotiations that started six months ago".

Haxholli added that it is "unlikely there will be an agreement between the parties as they are barricaded in their own positions".

Igor Novakovic, research director of the International and Security Affairs Centre - ISAC Fund, agrees that currently there is little chances for a compromise solution.

"It is a matter of recognising the symbols of Kosovo. Serbia has accepted the interpretation that the recognition of [Kosovo's] plates, in other words tolerating them, is one step closer to the recognition of Kosovo, while Pristina believes that as an independent state, from its perspective, it has every right to reciprocity [from the Belgrade authorities]," Novakovic told BIRN.

"And it seems to me that these are two opposing positions, neither side wants to give in, an intermediate solution would imply a compromise on both sides and it seems to me that there isn't the will to make any compromises, at least at this moment because both sides are entrenched in their positions," he added.