German parliament extends UNIFIL and KFOR military missions
Lawmakers approve one-year extensions for UNIFIL and KFOR deployments as Germany maintains its long-running international peacekeeping commitments
BERLIN
The German parliament voted late Thursday to extend two military missions abroad, approving the deployment of troops to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) for another year.
In the German parliament, 390 lawmakers supported the extension to the UNIFIL mission while 179 opposed it, with two abstentions. The KFOR mission received similar support with 391 votes in favor, 189 against, and two abstentions.
The Kosovo mission, which began in June 1999, represents the German military's longest-running foreign deployment at 26 years. The mandate gives the authorization to the Bundeswehr to deploy up to 400 soldiers to Kosovo.
“Since the start of the mission, the situation in Kosovo and the Western Balkans region has stabilized,” the German Defense Ministry said in a statement, but added that “the potential for conflict and escalation remains.”
Tensions persist particularly in northern Kosovo, which is predominantly inhabited by ethnic Serbs, the ministry said. The Bundeswehr has reinforced its KFOR contribution since April 2024, and this commitment is planned to continue until May 2027.
Meanwhile, Germany can send up to 300 soldiers to the UNIFIL mission, with more than 100 currently serving there. The German Navy provides ships and personnel to monitor maritime activity off the Lebanese coast to prevent unauthorized weapons transfers into the country. The UNIFIL mission, established in 1978, is one of the UN's longest-running peacekeeping operations.
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