Serbia to Take Kosovo’s Trade Embargo Before European Commission

Serbia will ask the European Commission and United Nations to mediate a dispute over Kosovo’s ban on imports of Serbian goods, saying it violates a free-trade agreement.

The embargo violates the Central European Free Trade Agreement, a European Union initiative, and jeopardizes supplies for Serbs and other populations in Kosovo, government spokesman Milivoje Mihajlovic told reporters in Belgrade today. Serbian exports to its former province, which declared independence in 2008, totaled $391 million in 2010 and $161 million in the first five months, according to the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.