Austria will contribute fewer troops to the NATO-led KFOR operation in Kosovo in the future. In the future, 120 fewer Bundeswehr soldiers will be stationed. The Ministry of Defense emphasized that this has nothing to do with the current situation in the country. The change was decided a long time ago. There is still criticism from the opposition.
The background is that Austria is providing 500 soldiers for the EU Battlegroup 2025. Their training starts next year. According to the ministry, after the planned withdrawal of soldiers in April 2024, one more company will remain in reserve for the KFOR operation in Kosovo. Overall, more Austrian soldiers will be available for foreign missions in the future than before, the spokesperson said.
There are currently 262 soldiers stationed there
The Austrian KFOR contingent is based in an area of Kosovo not affected by the recent unrest. For years, the Kosovo mission was by far the largest foreign deployment of the federal army. There are currently 262 soldiers stationed there, seven fewer than in the EUFOR operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in which Austria provides the commander and about a quarter of the entire force.
SPÖ sees withdrawal as ‘fatal signal’
The opposition SPÖ criticized the withdrawal as a “fatal signal”. “Neutral Austria should distinguish itself with a greater commitment to peace missions, not with a weakened mission,” SPÖ defense spokesman Robert Laimer demanded in a broadcast on Friday. “Especially when conflicts are flaring up all over the world as a result of Russian aggression. The federal government repeatedly emphasizes how important the Western Balkans is for Austria, but is unwilling to contribute to this essential peacekeeping mission.”
The Spiegel first reported that the German government wanted to send more Bundeswehr soldiers to Kosovo. Accordingly, the Chancellery approved the army’s plans to send 150 soldiers to Pristina next year. On Friday, a spokesperson for the German Ministry of Defense confirmed the report. It is also emphasized that the decision has nothing to do with the current tensions in Northern Kosovo. So this is not an increase in the number of KFOR troops.
Britain and Romania, on the other hand, want to strengthen their troops. There are currently approximately 3,400 KFOR troops stationed in Kosovo. Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo have increased since September 24, when 30 armed Serbs attacked a police station in the north of the country.
Used since 1999
The KFOR operation is subject to a 1999 UN Security Council mandate. A total of 28 states are involved, eight of which are not members of NATO. About 50,000 Serbs live in northern Kosovo, but more than 90 percent of Kosovo’s total population consists of ethnic Albanians. Both sides blame each other for the recent escalation. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but this is not recognized by either the government in Belgrade or the Serb minority in Kosovo.
Source: Krone
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