“The appetites of Serbia and Russia”

German, Swiss and Austrian newspapers are publishing articles on the escalating dispute over number plates in Kosovo. In addition to stating the facts, the newspapers also see Russian influence in the whole affair.

Volker Pabst, a journalist based in Istanbul, writes for the Swiss daily Noye Zircher Zeitung about the escalation of the number plate dispute in Kosovo:

“In September, a symbolic success was achieved in relations between Serbia and Kosovo. Since then, Kosovo citizens can travel to Serbia with their country’s documents. Belgrade, which does not recognise the statehood of its former province, is now for the first time accepting documents bearing the Republic of Kosovo label. Then the conflict escalated over another symbol of Kosovo’s state sovereignty – the number plates for cars in the north of Kosovo.”

The text then lists the genesis of the conflict and all the known details, from the downing of the drones, Vucic’s talks with the Chinese and Russian ambassadors in Belgrade to the abandonment of Kosovo’s institutions. Finally, the author assesses:

“The developments in northern Kosovo show in a clear light the still great potential for stirring up unrest that Moscow still has in the Balkans.” The text ends with an appeal by the European Union’s first diplomat, Josep Borrell calling on both sides to return to dialogue, on the Kosovo Serbs to return to the institutions and on Pristina to form a Association of Serb Municipaites without hesitation.

Tageszeitung: Statements of concern

The Berlin daily Tageszeitung also publishes a report on the same subject, signed by the Belgrade-based journalist Jana Laper:

“There have already been big protests this summer when Pristina tried to standardise all number plates. According to the European Union, such a practice is legislative. On the other hand, Serbia does not allow cars with Kosovo plates to enter. Car drivers have to put up temporary signs if they want to enter Serbia.”

The text then quotes tweets and statements by Kosovo politicians accusing Belgrade of escalation, and then thematises one clip: “The portal istraga.ba showed masked Serbian nationalists patrolling the north of Kosovo on the night of Saturday and Sunday, chanting: ‘We are back. Kosovo is Serbia, Crimea is Russia.”

Finally, there are some worrying statements and calls for dialogue coming from Brussels.

Standard: “Staged drama”

And the Standard, Austrian daily newspaper publishes an article under the headline “Concerns over the escalating registration dispute: nationalists in northern Kosovo boycott institutions”. The text is signed by journalist Adelheid Welfl:

“Withdrawal from institutions has been a regular practice since the 1990s as a political move by nationalists who want to undermine the functioning of the state.” This is how the withdrawal of Serbian nationalists from the institutions of the BiH state took place about a year ago,” writes Welfl, who goes on to describe the known facts in the number plate dispute.

It goes on to say “The government of Albin Kurti has the EU’s support in principle on this matter, but in recent weeks there have been renewed attempts to postpone a decision for another ten months.” The Kosovo government, however, has insisted that implementation should follow in the coming weeks. The EU has called on the Serbian representatives in Kosovo to return to the institutions and on the Kosovo government to create the Association of Serbian Municipalities agreed in the Brussels Agreement.”

“The fight for this Association has been going on for years. Serbia and Kosovo have different interpretations of the functions that this community should have. The Serbian government insists on establishing the Association on the basis of public law, not private law. The Kosovo government categorically rejects this, fearing that it would give the association executive functions in the north of Kosovo. And the Kosovo Constitutional Court has ruled against it.”

“In response to a question from the ‘Standard’ to the EU institutions, one spokesman drew attention to the fact that the text of the Brussels agreement was not published by the EU, but by Serbia and Kosovo. The EU has not provided an interpretation of the content of the agreement and disputed points on the Union of Serbian Municipalities.”

“Recently, on 3 November, a successful agreement was reached in the framework of the Berlin Process at the Western Balkans Leaders’ Summit in the German capital. Under the agreement, citizens of Kosovo and BiH can now finally enter either country without a visa.”

Later in the text, the author lists the intimidation by the “Srpska Lista”, Vucic’s autocratic rule, the role of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the murder of Oliver Ivanovic, and calls the dispute over number plates a “staged drama” orchestrated by Vucic.

At the end of the text, he also mentions the ban on Vuk Jeremić coming to Gracanica and quotes Kosovo’s Foreign Minister, Donika Gervala-Schwartz, who stated that ‘the appetites of Serbia and Russia for territorial conquests are far from being satisfied. .”

The author concludes her long text by explaining that the secession of Kosovo was “due to human rights violations”./DW