Kosovo hikes taxes on Serbian goods

Kosovo raised taxes on Serbian goods by 10 percent on Tuesday, saying the move was in retaliation for Belgrade's efforts to thwart recognition of its former southern province. Kosovo's government said the tax would apply to all products coming from Serbia excluding international brands. The measure is "a response to Serbia's savage campaign" against the international recognition of Kosovo, said Prime Minister Enver Hoxhaj. Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, which declared independence a decade ago following a brutal separatist war, have simmered in recent months as both are under pressure to normalise relations if they are to make progress towards joining the European Union.
Serbia, with backing from Russia and China, refuses to accept Kosovo's independence and still considers the ethnic Albanian-majority territory a renegade southern province despite its being recognised by around 115 UN members.