The international deadline set for the settlement of the Kosovo question - the last big territorial issue left by the collapse of Yugoslavia - is starting to slide. On Friday, Martti Ahtisaari, the United Nations' Kosovo talks envoy, postponed the announcement of his settlement proposals until 2007, abandoning plans to act before the year-end.

While a few weeks' delay is tolerable, any longer postponement could undermine hopes of a peaceful settlement and of a brighter future for one of Europe's most troubled regions.