Mr Ban said in a report that it is necessary to adjust the structure and profile of the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), which has run the territory since 1999 after NATO sent in troops to keep the peace.

He made it clear that council resolution 1244 adopted in 1999 would "remain the legal framework for the UN's mandate, whose practical implementation will depend on evolving circumstances" unless the council decides otherwise.

Newly independent Kosovo said on June 12 that it would adopt a constitution at the weekend that will herald the changeover of the international powers that have run it for the past decade.

The European Union launched a vast police and justice mission in February just before Kosovo declared independence from Serbia while Serbia and Russia strongly opposed the province's unilateral secession from Belgrade.

Russia has demanded that any changes should be made by the UN Security Council, where it has the power of veto. Moscow has called for the head of the UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to be removed because of what it called "scandalous" plans to curtail the mission.