Kosovo institutions have prepared a plan to integrate 760 Serbs, who used to work for Serbia’s parallel structures in northern Kosovo, to Kosovo institutions. These Serbs used to work for the Civil Protection, a Serbian paramilitary structure operating in Kosovo. As Kosovo does not have a similar military structure, these Serbs who were commanded by the mayors of Serb illegal municipalities in the north, will be employed as prison guardians, firefighters, guardians of Serb churches and other institutions.

Fisnik Rexhepi, member of the Kosovo delegation in talks with Serbia, told Tirana-based Top Channel that when talks resume in autumn, parties will finalize the plan to merge the Civil Protection into Kosovo’s legal institutions. Rexhepi also said that there would be a background check for former Civil Protection members before they are employed in Kosovo institutions. “First, the government of Serbia is obliged to issue an official decision for the dissolution of the Civil Protection. There are around 760 persons who are members of the Civil Protection. We have our plans how many of them we can include, and for the rest of them we are discussing some modalities with the European Union and with other international partners,” he added.

Naim Rashiti, analyst on security policies in the Balkans, said members of the Civil Protection were used since 2011 by mayors of parallel municipalities to obstruct the integration of the north. He added that a verification process showed that around 160 members of the Civil Protection are not from Kosovo but from Republika Srpska in Bosnia. “This is a highly sensitive issue because this is a paramilitary structure; it is not a civil protection corps. We need to be very careful while verifying their backgrounds. There are also needs to be greater pressure on Belgrade to stop funding not only this structure but every Serbian institution in Kosovo by way of amending the legislation in Serbia,” Rashiti said.

Rashiti also said that regardless of the political and financial cost of transferring members of the Civil Protection to Kosovo institutions, the government of Kosovo needs to conclude the process as soon as possible in order to pave way to a quicker integration of the north.