The Minister of Internal Affairs of North Macedonia, Pance Toshkovski, has announced that in April this year, the joint border control system, known as "One Stop Shop", will begin operating at the Blace point, which connects North Macedonia with Kosovo.
According to Toshkovski, this system will simplify border procedures, allowing citizens of both countries to be checked by a single customs officer, reducing "waiting time and facilitating border crossing between the two states."
"Within the framework of a common 'cloud' platform, data is shared between the two relevant ministries, in order to enable the entry of Kosovo citizens into North Macedonia and vice versa, only through a determination by a police officer," said Toshkovski.
"I hope it will be completed next month and at the latest, during April, we will begin officially putting it into operation," he added.
The minister made these statements on Friday, during a visit to the Bllaca border crossing, together with the First Deputy Prime Minister, Izet Mexhiti, and his counterpart from Kosovo, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla.
Sveçla, on the other hand, expressed expectations that the testing phase will be completed as soon as possible.
"For the citizens of both countries, it is very important that the transition is as fast as possible. For state bodies, it is for them to be as safe as possible. Of course, we are using the latest technological advances to reduce bureaucracy, but not at the expense of security, but to the benefit of citizens' time," said Sveçla.
The border crossing in Blace has recently been experiencing long lines on both sides of the border. The process for establishing joint border crossings began in June 2024. At the same crossing, on February 15, a citizen from Kosovo was also arrested, according to an international arrest warrant issued by Serbia through INTERPOL.
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said the suspect was arrested on suspicion of war crimes in Kosovo in 1999.
Regarding this case, the Deputy Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Izet Mexhiti, explained that measures are being taken to "ensure that such cases are handled in accordance with legal procedures and international standards."
"When there are such requests to INTERPOL from Serbia, countries in the region, European countries, ignore them because a special court has been formed, and the period 1999 - 2000 is a period that does not fall into other periods," said Mexhiti.
Media in North Macedonia reported that the arrested man was a former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) soldier from Ferizaj, but Mexhiti denied these reports.
"It is evident that the Serbian state misuses its participation in INTERPOL, places lists here and there, often updating them based on their daily interests. There has been an arrest of a Kosovo citizen, he is not a former soldier because at that time he was not in Kosovo, but was in Germany, but we are in contact with the authorities so that the case can be clarified as soon as possible and the citizen can be released," Mexhiti told the Lajm newspaper in North Macedonia.
The Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) also reacted to the arrest of the 55-year-old from Kosovo with the initials EB. The party called on the government to review the practice of implementing arrest warrants issued by Serbia.
Last summer, authorities in North Macedonia detained another former KLA soldier, Blerim Ramadani, also based on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia.
Ramadani, who is accused by Serbian authorities of war crimes in the Nerodime region in 1999, managed to escape from his relatives' home in North Macedonia, where he had been ordered by the court in Skopje to stay until August 16, prompting reactions from Serbia.
Dacic at the time described Ramadan's escape from house arrest as "scandalous".
Macedonian Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, during an official visit to Pristina on November 18, had hinted that Skopje would not continue to implement the arrest warrants issued by Serbia through INTERPOL.
When asked about Serbia's demands for the arrest of former KLA members, Mickoski said that "anyone who does not violate the laws" of his country is "welcome" in North Macedonia.
However, Justice Minister Igor Filkov later stressed that Mickoski's statements were "misunderstood," and that the arrest warrants issued by INTERPOL at Serbia's request will continue to be applicable in North Macedonia/ REL (A2 Televizion)
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