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Britain welcomes the agreement between Kosovo and the EU on the implementation of the Law on Foreigners

2026-03-16 20:45:02, Kosova & Bota CNA

Britain welcomes the agreement between Kosovo and the EU on the implementation

The United Kingdom said it welcomes the agreement reached between Kosovo and the European Union regarding the implementation of the Law on Foreigners.

On March 14, the Kosovo Government agreed to provide temporary residence permits and recognize the identity cards of members of the Serbian community who do not have Kosovo documents under the Law on Foreigners and Vehicles, which began to be implemented on March 15.

The decision was made public after a meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the EU Special Envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Peter Sorensen.

"The agreement respects Kosovo's legal framework, providing practical solutions that enable all communities to live, work and study legally in Kosovo, without disruption of services. We welcome Prime Minister Kurti's commitment to implement the law and his future plans affecting the Kosovo Serb community, in close coordination with the EU and the community," the British ambassador to Kosovo, Jonathan Hargreaves, wrote on Facebook.

The two laws, the one on foreigners and the one on vehicles, began to be partially implemented on January 15, initially through an information campaign on the procedures and rules of their implementation, while their full implementation began on March 15.

These two laws require that all those who do not have Kosovo documents be provided with a residence permit, while vehicles with foreign license plates will not be able to circulate in Kosovo for longer than three months or only on the basis of authorization.

But, following the March 14 decision, this will not apply for now to Kosovo Serbs without Kosovo documents, as they have the opportunity to obtain a 12-month temporary residence permit, as well as carry ID cards issued by Serbian authorities as a means of identification.

After the meeting with the European emissary, Kurti pledged that the executive he leads will continue working towards the complete merger of the education and healthcare systems, which operate according to the Serbian system, into the single Kosovo system.

He said he has agreed to provide temporary residence permits for health and education workers, so that local Serbs do not lack basic services until Kosovo fully integrates them into its system.

These facilities have been welcomed by the EU and Serbia.

The head of European diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, said she is ready to mediate a high-level meeting between Kosovo and Serbia "soon", after the Kosovo authorities provided temporary relief for the Serbian community in the Law on Foreigners.

According to her, "a new momentum has been created to advance relations between the EU and Kosovo and the dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade."/REL