Kosovo Works on 'Plan B' to Develop Army

The daily newspaper Koha Ditore reported on Thursday that Kosovo's government has started working on a "plan B" to transform the current lightly armed Security Force, KSF, into a regular army.

According to the newspaper, the plan envisages a 10-year transition process.

The Prime Minister's Office confirmed to the newspaper that a legal package affecting the KSF had already been examined and, after passing procedures, would be sent to the cabinet.

"The package of laws for the KSF ... has been received by the government but has not yet proceeded to a government meeting. When is it is ready to proceed, we will inform you," the newspaper quoted the PM's office as saying.

The document, according to the newspaper, does not envisage the KSF's immediate transformation into an army, as was attempted for some years now, but will instead remove some of the curent restrictions on the KSF's mandate and mission.

 "The government's interest is to do this as soon as possible, but always in co-operation with [Kosovo's] strategic partners," the response to the newspaper said, referring primarily to the US and other Western allies.

The deputy minister of the KSF, Burim Ramadani, told the same newspaper that they were working on the KSF's transition with the aim of advancing its capacities.

Over the last year, Kosovo institutions tried in vain to change the KSF's mandate, to make it more of a regular army.

However, these plans ran up against a constitutional obligation requiring a "double majority" in parliament - meaning the support of two-thirds of all MPs and two-thirds of the 20 ethnic non-Albanian MPs.

Kosovo Serb MPs, who hold 10 of the 20 seats reserved for non-Albanian communities, blocked the initiative.

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