Kosovo’s Ministry of Interior Affairs has lifted a ban on the import of Serbian products, imposed a year ago for security reasons. 

Trucks carrying products from Serbia will be able to enter Kosovo only through the Merdare border crossing, where there is the appropriate technical equipment to control the cargo.

The ban on the import of Serbian products was taken by Pristina in response to the June 2023 arrest of three Kosovar border guards by Serbian police. 

The official excuse was that the trucks that carried Serbian products were also traded in arms. The embargo mainly affected areas where the majority of the population is Serb. Euronews reported that the estimated damage to the Serbian economy was three hundred million euros.

The revocation of the measure was persistently requested by the EU, pointing out that Kosovo violates the CEFTA treaty on free trade. 

Germany even recently threatened Pristina that Kosovo will not be invited to participate in the “Berlin Process” meeting if it does not lift the import embargo on Serbian products.

Also read: NATO | Reinforces its presence in Kosovo with 600 British soldiers