European Union High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement late on Wednesday night that negotiators from Belgrade and Pristina agreed measures to avoid further escalation.

“Under the EU Facilitation, the Parties have agreed on measures to avoid further escalation and to fully concentrate, as a matter of urgency, on the proposal on the normalisation of their relations, as presented this September by the EU Facilitator and supported by France and Germany,” the statement said adding that this means that Serbia will stop issuing licence plates with Kosovo cities’ denominations, and that Kosovo will cease any further actions related to re-registration of vehicles.

Borrel said that the EU will ensure that key issues and principles related to normalisation will be addressed in the context of the proposal. “The Parties understand that all past Dialogue agreements must be implemented,” he said.

We reached an agreement between #Kosovo and #Serbia today that will allow to avoid further escalation.

We will discuss next steps within the framework of our proposal for normalisation of relations between the two parties. pic.twitter.com/YQ7vVWPOgT

— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) November 23, 2022

The EU’s top diplomat said he would invite Belgrade and Pristina to discuss the next steps within the framework of the proposal in order to present results by the next Special Group on Normalisation with Kosovo and the next update on Chapter 35 for Serbia. “In case of obstruction by either Party, the EU Facilitator may terminate the process,” he warned.

“I and EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak will continue to facilitate the process of normalisation of relations and update the EU Member States and partners regularly about the progress achieved by the Parties,” he said.

“This is an important achievement,” Borrel said.