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The postponement of the deadline for the re-registration of cars in the north of Kosovo is requested again

The postponement of the deadline for the re-registration of cars in the north of

The Directorate of Police of Kosovo for the North region has again asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo to postpone for another 15 days the deadline for the re-registration of cars with Serbian license plates in those RKS - Republic of Kosovo.

The deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, Veton Elshani, in a statement for Radio Free Europe, explained that such a request was sent to the central authorities because long queues were observed in front of the centers for re-registration.

"There are some cars with technical problems. If the cars have technical problems, the citizens cannot get the confirmation within the day that the car is working and they cannot get the insurance. We have noticed a technical problem and for this we have asked the Ministry [of the Interior] to postpone the deadline, but this does not mean that it will happen like this", he said.

As of November 1, 2023, citizens of the four northern municipalities with a Serbian majority, North Mitrovica, Leposaviq, Zveçan and Zubin Potok, have been given a one-month deadline to re-register their vehicles from KM (Mitrovica of Kosovo) plates to the RKS .

License plates KM, and with other Serbian acronyms for the cities of Kosovo are issued by the Serbian authorities and are considered illegal by the authorities in Kosovo.

However, the circulation of cars with such license plates has been tolerated until now in the north, while in the areas inhabited by Serbs south of the Ibri, they were removed from use more than ten years ago.

According to the calculations of the Serbian civil sector, there were about 10,000 cars with KM license plates in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs. Meanwhile, according to the data of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kosovo, nearly 4,000 cars have been re-registered with RKS license plates in the last month.

Elshani said that if the MIA does not approve the request to extend the deadline for re-registration, the Kosovo Police will not allow the movement of cars with KM license plates from December 1.

"They will be stopped by the regular police [not by the special police units that are present in the north of Kosovo]. License plates will be taken, a fine of 150 euros will be imposed. If citizens drive without license plates, their cars will be seized," said Elshani.

The issue of KM license plates has been updated since last year and has caused a series of crises in the north of Kosovo, the exit of Serbs from Kosovo's institutions, protests and the setting up of barricades./REL

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