Monday, December 4, 2023
 
 

Kosovo votes to transform civil defence force into formal military structure

Parliament approves plan to upgrade existing Kosovo Security Force while Kosovo Serbs boycott vote

- Advertisement -

The Kosovo Parliament voted almost unanimously on December 14 to begin the process of upgrading the country’s existing NATO/KFOR-trained paramilitary force, the Kosovo Security Force (KSF), into a formal military organisation in a process expected to take up to 10 years.
The United States has actively supported the transformation process in the hopes of managing it closely, while the reaction from Serbia, widely expected to be vociferous, exceeded most expectations and the issue will likely become a noisy Russian-supported debate topic in the United Nations Security Council, with limited prospects as NATO remains divided on the issue.
Vote largely a gesture with little immediate impact
While the country’s ethnic Serb politicians boycotted, the full house of parliamentarians present for the December 14 formal vote saw 107 deputies in the 120-seat Kosovo parliament vote in favour of passing three draft laws to convert the existing 4,000-strong Kosovo Security Force, created in 2009, into a regular army.
At this point the change is largely a political gesture, changing the names of existing paramilitary and governmental structures used to manage the KSF.
The existing KSF will be gradually expanded and transformed into a professional army of 5,000 with a reserve of 3,000, called the Armed Forces of Kosovo, while the mandate to handle civil protection operations and crisis-response matters, as the lightly-armed KSF presently does, is not set to change in any significant way. In a decade the budget for the armed forces is set to reach approximately €100 million.
There are no plans for the introduction of heavier weapons than those currently used by the lightly-armed KSF, and for now, at least, ongoing training projects sponsored by NATO members continue, with a heavy US involvement.
Foreign reactions as expected
While a strong reaction from Belgrade was expected, the intensity of the reaction has surprised many observers. Belgrade labelled the vote the “most direct threat to peace and stability in the region,” and Serbia’s Prime Minister, Ana Brnabić, declared that Serbia would “stay on its path of peace and prosperity,” while ominously adding that armed intervention was “one of the options on the table.” Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said December 14 that Serbia will seek a special meeting of the UN Security Council to deal with the issue, which Belgrade and Moscow see as a violation of the UN resolution that ended Kosovo’s war of independence in 1999.
In view of strong US, French, German, and UK support for the transformation of the KSF into a small NATO-compatible military, action in the UN Security Council will not produce Belgrade’s desired results.
As an alliance, NATO has kept a peacekeeping mission in Kosovo since the war ended in 1999 but has at least four members that are unhappy with vocal demonstrations by Pristina of its independence, such as this vote, which some believe will actually increase tension in the region.
As the new laws were voted through, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg declared through Twitter that he “regretted” the decision and that “all sides must ensure” that it will “not further increase tensions in the region.”

- Advertisement -

Subscribe to our newsletter

Co-founder and Executive Director for Global Economics and Southeast Europe at NE Global Media.  Former US diplomat with previous assignments in Eastern Europe, the UN, SE Asia, Greece, across the Balkans, as well as Washington DC.

Latest

US-Central Asia relations: It’s time for a Green 5+1

During the United Nations General Assembly in September, a...

Ukraine, Middle East will dominate Cameron’s UK foreign policy agenda

David Cameron, who was made Foreign Secretary in a...

What will it take to prevent a Gaza reconstruction fiasco?

Let us be unequivocal about the current war between...

Don't miss

US-Central Asia relations: It’s time for a Green 5+1

During the United Nations General Assembly in September, a...

Ukraine, Middle East will dominate Cameron’s UK foreign policy agenda

David Cameron, who was made Foreign Secretary in a...

What will it take to prevent a Gaza reconstruction fiasco?

Let us be unequivocal about the current war between...

Ukraine’s persecuted mayor

Lest it be forgotten, the major thematic issue in...

US-Central Asia relations: It’s time for a Green 5+1

During the United Nations General Assembly in September, a historic meeting took place: President Joe Biden met with the presidents of the five nations...

Ukraine, Middle East will dominate Cameron’s UK foreign policy agenda

David Cameron, who was made Foreign Secretary in a surprise move by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his cabinet reshuffle on November 13, is...

What will it take to prevent a Gaza reconstruction fiasco?

Let us be unequivocal about the current war between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas - the latter declared this war on Israeli...

Ukraine’s persecuted mayor

Lest it be forgotten, the major thematic issue in post-Maidan and pre-war Ukraine was, and continues to be, the transformation of Ukrainian society along...

Russia’s powerful economic levers over Armenia

Armenia's relations with its strategic partner Russia are getting worse and worse and its leaders seem to desire a shift in geopolitical orientation towards the West....

Meeting conditions for Georgia’s EU accession is a tall order for Tbilisi

The European Commission’s provisional endorsement of Georgia’s EU chances contained a not-so-subtle message couched in diplomatic jargon: Tbilisi must forge a stronger national consensus...

New US actions against corruption and Russian malign influence in the Western Balkans

On November 16, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, known by its acronym OFAC, designated eight individuals and six...

Why China’s new map has stirred regional tensions

In the waning days of summer, closely following a BRICS summit and mere days ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Group...