Violeta Haxholli

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic condemned the Kosovo government's latest decision about licence plates for Serbs living in northern Kosovo, claiming its goal is "to expel Serbs, especially from the north of Kosovo and Metohija". He said Kosovo's goal was "to make a new Storm", referencing the Croatian army operation in 1995, codenamed Storm, that forced most Serbs to flee Croatia.

Secondly, the Kosovo authorities will have access to the Valac/Vallaq substation, an important part of the country's power grid that is located in a Serb-majority municipality, and other energy infrastructure that Pristina was not able to access previously.

Serbs to pay bills to Serbian company

"The EU assisted both delegations in identifying solutions, but it is the responsibility of both parties to agree on a solution. We expect them to make progress by 21 April," Stano told BIRN in written answers.

"It is in Kosovo's interest to benefit from this historic opportunity and push forward Kosovo's requests by lobbying the US administration," said Violeta Haxholli, a researcher at the Kosovo Democratic Institute, KDI, a Pristina-based think tank.

Dialogue 'will be imposed as important'

Sixty-one per cent of Kosovo citizens expect the final phase of the Brussels-mediated dialogue to lead to the recognition of Kosovo's independence from Serbia, a new survey published on Wednesday by the Kosovo Democratic Institute, KDI, has found.