Si les négociations sur le futur statut du Kosovo soulèvent le problème de la conciliation des demandes de la majorité albanaise avec celles de la minorité serbe de la province, elles représentent également un enjeu de politique intérieure pour Belgrade. L’éventualité d’une indépendance du Kosovo interroge ainsi ce que serait la viabilité socio-économique et politique du nouvel État, et au-delà pose la question de la stabilité d’une région où la communauté internationale s’est beaucoup investie.
Kosovo is still part of Serbia-Montenegro, which is seeking to retain some form of sovereignty over the province. Its ethnic Albanian majority wants complete independence from Belgrade. Whereas some crucial UN-set standards such as the decentralization process, the return of refugees, and protection of minorities have not yet been implemented, the Kosovo status talks are underway, having officially began in November 2005. The international community has defined three principles: the province cannot go back to where it was, it will not split or merge with another state, and the negotiators should find a solution that is acceptable to both sides. Regional stability is also at stake in this process, the Yugoslav wars having shown that there is a real danger that problems in this region can deteriorate rapidly.