Serbia, Kosovo strike border management deal: EU

Serbia and Kosovo struck a key deal to jointly manage their disputed border crossings on Friday, a vital step in reducing tension on the north Kosovo border, the European Union said. "The parties reached an agreement on the EU developed concept of integrated management for crossing points," a European Union statement said. "This means that the parties will gradually set up the joint, integrated, single and secure posts at all their common crossing points." The system will be overseen by members of the European rule of law mission EULEX, combining officials and police. Friday's deal comes after three days of long talks into the late hours as Serbia came under strong pressure from EU nations and NATO to take a proactive role in stemming violence on the border. A new surge of unrest at border crossings in recent days left scores injured, including NATO peacekeepers, while threatening to scuttle the fledgling Serbia-Kosovo talks as well as Serbia's dreams of EU membership. Some 50 soldiers from the NATO-led mission, including Austrians and Germans, were hurt when trying to dismantle barricades put up by members of northern Kosovo's majority ethnic Serbs who refuse to recognise border guards and customs officials sent by the ethnic Albanian government in Pristina. Kosovo declared independence in 2008 but Belgrade still considers the territory to be a Serbian province.