Kosovo's Future Status and U.S. Policy Page: 1 of 6
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Order Code RS21721
Updated July 19, 2005
ORS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Kosovo's Future Status and U.S. Policy
Steven Woehrel
Specialist in European Affairs
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Summary
The future status of Kosovo is perhaps the most sensitive and potentially
destabilizing political question in the Balkans. The Administration views "getting
Kosovo right" as key to integrating the Balkans into Euro-Atlantic institutions. This
report discusses the issue of Kosovo's future status; that is, whether it should become
an independent country, or have some form of autonomy within Serbia. Talks on
Kosovo's status could start in fall 2005, if Kosovo is deemed to have made sufficient
progress on a set of standards established by the international community. The 109th
Congress may consider legislation on Kosovo's status. This report will be updated as
events warrant. For more on the current situation in Kosovo, see CRS Report RL31053,
Kosovo and U S. Policy.
Background
The current status ofKosovo is governed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244,
passed in June 1999 at the end of the Kosovo conflict. The resolution authorizes an
international military and civilian presence in Kosovo, the duration of which is at the
discretion of the Security Council. The NATO-led peacekeeping force KFOR is charged
with maintaining a secure environment, while the U.N. Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is
given the chief role in administering Kosovo on a provisional basis. The resolution
provides for an interim period of autonomy for Kosovo of undefined length, until
negotiations on the future status of the province take place. UNMIK is tasked with
gradually transferring its administrative responsibilities to elected, interim autonomous
government institutions, while retaining an oversight role.
In a future stage, UNMIK will oversee the transfer of authority from the interim
autonomous institutions to permanent ones, after Kosovo's future status is determined.
UNSC Resolution 1244 provides little insight into how the status issue should be
resolved, saying only that it should be determined by an unspecified "political process."
However, the resolution explicitly confirms the territorial integrity of the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia (consisting of Serbia and neighboring Montenegro) and calls for
"substantial autonomy" for Kosovo "within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia." The
FRY was dissolved in February 2003, replaced with a looser "state union" entitled "Serbia
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Woehrel, Steven. Kosovo's Future Status and U.S. Policy, report, July 19, 2005; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc822550/m1/1/?q=%22foreign%20policy%22: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.