Kosovo Moves Closer to Forming Own Army While Serbs Protest

(Bloomberg) -- Kosovo’s predominantly ethnic-Albanian parliament approved laws that may lead to the upgrade of its security force to an army despite a walkout by representatives of the Serb minority.

The legislation drafted by Kosovo’s government, was approved “in principle” Thursday, Gazeta Express reported. Final adoption is expected in November. Premier Ramush Haradinaj welcomed the move as a step toward joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008.

Serbia and most Serbs living in Kosovo refuse to recognize it as a country and oppose the creation of a military force. Earlier efforts to change Kosovo’s constitution to establish an army failed, prompting the mostly ethnic Albanian government to draft the laws as a workaround.

To contact the reporter on this story: Misha Savic in Belgrade at msavic2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Rose at rrose10@bloomberg.net, Michael Winfrey, Elizabeth Konstantinova

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