Kosovo citizens start traveling freely to Serbia

PRISTINA, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- After more than a decade Kosovo citizens started to freely travel to Serbia on Monday, following a mutual agreement reached in EU facilitated dialogue in July.

This agreement covers persons, who are now able to travel on the basis of ID cards, and also car insurance and vehicle license plates.

Kosovo Interior Minister Bajram Rexhepi on Monday said the agreement started implementation in all Kosovo-Serbia border crossing points, but due to technical difficulties the implementation has not started in two northern crossings known as gate 1 and 31.

"The agreement is valid also for the north but technically insurance companies are still not ready to operate over there," said Rexhepi.

For the time being, vehicle crossings imply insurance expenses between 60 euros (78 U.S. dollars) and 100 euros (130 dollars). Rexhepi said this is an interim charge until Pristina and Belgrade reach an additional agreement on the issue.

European Commission Liaison Office in Pristina delivered a welcome note on the implementation, saying that "this is exactly why the dialogue was launched, to help improve lives of people."

Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade still considers the territory to be a Serbian province.

Although the EU has not recognized Kosovo's independence, leading European states have exchanged ambassadors with Pristina.