Kosovo does not save military budget

The Kosovo Assembly on Friday has finally adopted three laws, which allow the Kosovo Security Force to be transformed into a military force, including defence responsibility, but without touching its name.

The transformation of the KSF is expected to pass through several phases and last between 7 and 10 years.

Ibrahim Shala, director of the Department of Public Relations at the Ministry for the Kosovo Security Force, tells Radio Free Europe that it is unprecedented to have gradual promotions of the KSF budget.

The “means that, in proportion to the country's economic power, the finances for the Kosovo Security Force on a new mission will be added. The current budget for 2018 is 53m euros and is meant to be raised by 5m euros per year. For 2019, it will be 58m euros. In 2020, 61 million, while for 2021 the budget will be 66m euros. It means a gradual increase of 5m euros a year”.

“Well, this plan cannot be flexible, depending on the security circumstances in the country and the region, and of course the state, for the Ministry of Defence and KSF, will have priority under certain circumstances”, Shala suggests.

Despite the cost, representatives of Kosovo institutions have already declared there are sufficient financial grounds to move forward with the transformation of the KSF. According to them, within 10 years, what it is meant to take time for this process -- from Kosovo's budget -- financial means will be achieved.

Even Plator Avdiu, analyst from the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies, tells Radio Free Europe, that by taking on Kosovo's budget, the amount earmarked for the Kosovo Army is sufficient.

He says the KSF can also receive additional means from NATO member states, namely from the United States and other countries that have been expressed in favour of building the Kosovo Army.

“Taking into account that the new KSF mandate will always be the construction of defence capacities and not the construction of offensive or offensive capacities, growth of budget per year from 5 million does not mean that it will always remain the same because this figure, with the progressive growth of Kosovo's budget, can also increase the budget percentage for KSF. So I don't think this could present any very big problem”, Avdiu says.

The Kosovo Security Force or the Kosovo Army is a multiethnic, uniformised and equipped with light weapons. Ibrahim Shala says that depending on the development and budget, the Kosovo Army will also be equipped with weapons.

The Kosovo Security Force was equipped last week with 24 military vehicles called “Humvee”, which came from the United States of America.

The KSF or the Kosovo Army, in the following years, will be equipped with all enough and needed weapons to carry out the tasks stemming from the new mission, former KSF commander Kadri Kastrati said earlier in an interview for Radio Free Europe.

The largest trans-caliber that has been provided for the Kosovo Army will be balls up to 105 millimeters, mines launching up to 120 millimeters, antiaircraft protection, helicopters and all weapons under this chamber”, Kastrati said.