Kosovo Joins IMF and World Bank

This would otherwise be a non-event, except for the fact that Kosovo’s accession to the IMF and World Bank is a further blow to Serbia’s ongoing case to deny Kosovo legal recognition as an independent state.  Should international economic institutions like the IMF and World Bank wait for the ICJ to rule on Kosovo’s status before taking such a step?  Maybe.  But the IMF and World Bank are controlled by Kosovo’s friends and protectors (the U.S. and the E.U.) and they have no formal obligation to defer to the ICJ’s judgment. And let the international aid money start flowing!