On Monday 9 May 2016, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Étienne Schneider, announced the government's plans to end the participation of the Luxembourg army in the NATO KFOR mission in Kosovo.
The announcement to MPs was made during the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and European Affairs and would see an end to Luxembourg's so-far sixteen-year-long participation in the KFOR mission.
The mission itself began in 1999 with a workforce of 50,000 soldiers, whilst it now has just over 5,500. The Grand Duchy is one of the few countries whose numbers in Kosovo have not been brought down in the last 16 years and 23 Luxembourg troops are currently deployed there.
"Since the beginning of the mission, our contribution and our military presence have been repeatedly welcomed and positively evaluated by officials there," commented Étienne Schneider. "The security situation has improved markedly in the past. Many challenges still remain, but these concern more civil areas and the rule of law. The withdrawal from KFOR will allow us to assign our military resources to other peacekeeping operations within the EU and NATO."
According to the Deputy PM, the military authorities are currently coordinating the end of Luxembourg's participation in the KFOR mission in harmony with the command of the allied forces. The country will look to end its military presence in Kosovo with the return of the 50th contingent in February 2017. 23 members of the KFOR 47 contingent arrived back in Luxembourg in mid-February 2016 after four months spent in the country.
Photo by Luxembourg Army
