The Ambassador of Germany in Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, has said that he welcomes the decision of the Government of Kosovo to remove the restriction on goods from Serbia, at the border point in Merdare.

“This is an important step towards the unblocking of CEFTA. We will support the Government of Kosovo, to guarantee that its security requirements are met, and we will monitor the processes at the border point”, he said through a post on X – the platform previously known as Twitter.

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, announced earlier on Monday that the restriction on the entry of goods from Serbia has been lifted at the Merdare crossing point.

However, he has asked for the help of the United States and Western countries in providing scanners at the border points, so that nothing from Serbia that could compromise its security enters Kosovo.

He said that until the scanners are provided, strict controls will be carried out in Merdare.

“We must undertake security measures, never trade measures… we believe that the change of measure is more than enough so that the day after tomorrow in CEFTA, and on Monday in the Berlin Process, we will have complete success”.

He admitted that the restrictive measure had an effect on trade, but described this fact as a “consequence” and not the “goal” of the Government.

The government of Kosovo imposed a ban on the import of goods from Serbia in July 2023 for “security” reasons, after three Kosovo police officers were arrested by the Serbian police. Although they were later released, the ruling on Serbian goods remained in effect.