Brussels says Prishtina’s decision to lift its ban on Serbian goods at one border crossing is a positive step toward restoring free trade in the region and unblocking CEFTA.

The European Union’s office in Prishtina on Tuesday welcomed the Kosovo government’s decision to scrap a ban on imports of Serbian finished goods at the Merdare border crossing – a key demand of the EU.

Kosovo had imposed the measure citing security reasons. It claimed that weapons could be transported across the border from Serbia. But the EU wanted the ban lifted to reduce tensions and promote dialogue.

As an incentive, Kosovo has been given to believe that it will be allowed to represent itself as a country within the Central European Free Trade Agreement, CEFTA, a scheme involving Western Balkan EU hopefuls to promote trade. Kosovo is currently represented in CEFTA by the UN’s Kosovo mission UNMIK.

“Free trade of goods across Western Balkans, in line with CEFTA rules, is key for the functioning of the Common Regional Market,” the EU office in Kosovo said in a statement.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced on Monday that the restriction on finished Serbian-origin products will be removed only at the Merdare crossing, one of several between Serbia and Kosovo.

Kurti said this was because “the customs terminal [at Merdare] is [only] 300 meters away”, while at other border points it is difficult to control what happens between the border and the customs point.

He explained that trucks passing with goods at Merdare will undergo “strict checks” before “advanced scanners” are installed. He said that Kosovo has requested the assistance of the US and the EU for the scanners.

Christian Boettcher, spokesperson for the German embassy in Prishtina, told BIRN on Tuesday that Berlin “is keen to support Kosovo meeting its security needs by providing scanners as [Manuel] Sarrazin [Germany’s special envoy for the Western Balkans] offered to PM Kurti”.

“Other partners will be part of this as well. The scanners should be provided as soon as possible, in line with rules and regulation for public procurement and in line with the needs on the ground,” Boettcher explained.

On Monday, after Kurti’s announcement, Jorn Rohde, Germany’s ambassador to Pristina, wrote on X that “the decision of the Kosovo Government to open the Merdare border crossing for goods coming from Serbia… marks an important step towards unblocking CEFTA”.

During several visits to Kosovo since early September, Sarrazin urged Kurti to scrap the ban imposed in June 2023, which Sarrazin said was blocking free trade in the region and obstructing CEFTA.

Although Kosovo is expected no longer to be officially represented within CEFTA by UNMIK, if it drops the ban, its name will be written as Kosovo*.

The asterisk will lead to a footnote stating that the representation of Kosovo is without prejudice to UN Security Council Resolution 1244 – a reflection of Serbia’s refusal to recognise it as an independent state.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday that the removal of the ban was “important for the Serbian economy”, but did not otherwise sound hopeful.

He said he expected “that on the third day they’ll stop someone for who knows what reason, on the fourth day they’ll halt the entire crossing, and on the fifth day they’ll claim to have found ‘two bullets of calibre 7.62’ – which they’ll plant themselves – and then say: ‘We’re closing [the border] for the next 11 months until we find scanners.’ But regardless, it’s always better that some goods pass than none at all.”

In September, Sarrazin told BIRN that the ban on products from Serbia had disrupted trade and that foreign companies, especially German firms, had complained about it. Kosovo’s own Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Pristina made similar assertions.

Sarrazin also said that unless Kosovo removed the ban, it risked isolation and more measures, even questions about Kosovo’s participation in the Single Euro Payments Area, SEPA.

It remains to be determined whether the latest move will translate to Kosovo representing itself in CEFTA but Kurti insisted on Monday that Kosovo’s “expectations are to be represented [by itself]”.

The move also comes days before a summit of the Berlin Process, an EU-backed platform for high-level cooperation between Balkan countries.