KSF towards the end of the penultimate stage to become an army

With its return to the biggest exercise "Defender Europe 2025", after its activity was suspended last year, the Security Force aims to validate the third infantry regiment, which concludes the second phase of the transition of this force towards a operational army. But security experts say that this phase could be accelerated due to the developments and challenges faced by the security sector.

With the finalization of the last two activities, the Kosovo Security Force aims to complete the second phase of the Comprehensive Plan towards the transformation of the army. This month, the second infantry regiment was validated, and next year the third regiment is expected to be validated as part of the "Defender Europe 2025" exercise, confirmed the Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci. Last year, the KSF suspended this exercise after the sanctions imposed on Kosovo due to tensions in the north. Even though Kosovo was one of the host countries of this exercise, it could not bring the activity to the end, since on May 30 the US ambassador in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, said that "for Kosovo, those exercises have ended" .

The "Defender Europe 23" exercise, which is led by the United States, aims to create readiness and interoperability between the US, NATO and partner countries.

Ejup Maqedonci has stated that the second phase is going according to the plans made and that Kosovo will be part of this exercise next year. 

"The Kosovo Security Force is achieving the objectives foreseen with the comprehensive transition plan, based on the timelines and based on the requirements arising from this plan. During this month, the second infantry regiment was also validated, marking the culmination of the achievement of this plan for this year. After the validation of the first infantry regiment last year and the second infantry regiment this year, in the next year within the framework of the "Defender Europe 2025" exercise, the validation of the third infantry regiment will be done and thus the second phase is completed. of the transition of the Kosovo Security Force, to then move normally to the third phase, where other capacities will be built", said Maqedonci after the meeting of the Government of on Wednesday. 

He further emphasized that together with the Commander of the Kosovo Security Force, they are committed to achieving this plan within the time limits. 

"For this purpose, we had the extraordinary support of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, both in terms of the budget, and also the administrative support. But also the opportunities that have been created for the Kosovo Security Force to have new locations, such as Dumoshi Airport, which is a strategic location for the needs of the Kosovo Security Force".  

According to Maqedonci, the prime minister's decision to open the ammunition factory and the drone design laboratory do not interfere with the transition plan of the Kosovo Security Force. 

"The plan will normally be developed based on the objectives of the comprehensive transition plan drawn up in cooperation with the United States of America. The opening of the state ammunition factory will contribute to the logistical stability not only for the Ministry of Defense, but also for other ministries that have weapons in their possession and need ammunition.

For this reason, in the discussions we have focused on making all production in Kosovo according to NATO standards", said Maqedonci. 

The second phase is related to the functionalism of planning in the field of defense with personal and collective weaponry, namely with the necessary systems that this structure has. 

During the second phase of the transition, Kosovo contracted the purchase of Javelin anti-tank missiles. A payment was made in the first part of this year, after on January 11 the American State Department accepted the possible sale to Kosovo of 246 Javelin missiles worth about 75 million dollars for Kosovo. The request was sent to the US Congress, which approved the purchase in February of this year. 

The US Department of State has stated that the sale of weapons in Kosovo supports the goals of US foreign policy and national security.  

The self-guided missile system, which reaches a range of up to 4.000 meters, became popular in Ukraine's defensive war against Russia. 

The main supporters of arming Kosovo are the United States, Turkey, Germany, Britain, Italy and Croatia.

The former deputy minister of the Security Force, Bejtush Gashi, who was part of the transition planning team, says that the second phase 2021-2025 could be accelerated as a result of the developments and challenges faced by the security sector. 

"Actually, my expectations were that the dynamics would be faster, but it did not happen. We hope that in the following years the project will be completed due to the fact that the current relations between Kosovo and its supporters to prepare this force to be an integral part of the international structures, may take time. In order to complete the project, an evaluation by international institutions, namely NATO, is needed to give the assessments that the structure of the Security Force for Kosovo meets the standards required in the field and the responsibilities it has to cover in the defense sector. , at the national level and the responsibilities that that structure can take on in the international aspect", emphasized Gashi. 

According to the Comprehensive Transition Plan, the KSF's new responsibilities include maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity, providing military support to civilian authorities and participating in international operations. 

In the period of five years, the increase in the number of the defensive infantry of the KSF is also foreseen, which will consist of 5 thousand active troops. 

Membership in NATO remains the most important diplomatic and security priority, alongside membership in the European Union. 

Until now, there has been no progress in NATO's relationship with the Kosovo Security Force, more than six years after the adoption of the package of laws for the transformation of the KSF from a mandate for civil protection and emergency response to a defense force.

NATO had requested that the transformation be done with constitutional changes. Due to the impossibility of making these changes due to the opposition of the Serbian List, Kosovo started the transition of the KSF through legal changes. 

Although a number of countries considered the transition to the army as a sovereign right of Kosovo, reservations were also expressed due to the time when the decision was taken.  

But, Gashi estimates that this situation can change. According to him, the assessments for the fulfillment of the standards by the KSF are made by two NATO missions present, one in the political plane and one life in the professional plane.

"At the end of the project, an assessment from credible institutions is practical and welcome to complete the project and investments in this field. Therefore, currently the process, in which the Kosovo Security Force is proceeding, such an opportunity exists. Based on the performance that this sector has, I am very sure that it will directly influence the Kosovo Security Force to be a member of NATO and other security structures at the European level within an optimal period of time," he said. Gashi said. "Here it is expected, according to some predictions, that Europe in the near future will have its own structure of the security sector, and we, as part of the European continent and part of investments in the field of European integration, must make efforts to be integrated into other structures, which are planned to be formed in the near future".

Kosovo is part of the Contact Group for the Protection of Ukraine, this mechanism is related to NATO's objectives for peace and stability in Europe, and has participated in peace support operations in Kuwait, together with American troops.