EU foreign affairs head Ashton to visit Balkans with Clinton

(BRUSSELS) - European foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton is to make a joint visit next week to the Balkans with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, her office announced Thursday.

The region continues to struggle in the aftermath of the violent break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s but as stability returns, several successor states, including Serbia, have applied for EU membership.

Ashton and Clinton will first visit Sarajevo on Tuesday, followed by Belgrade and then Pristina, the capital of disputed Kosovo.

In Serbia, they will meet President Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Ivica Dacic while in Kosovo, whose independence claim Belgrade rejects, they will meet President Atifete Jahjaga and Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, the statement said.

Ashton and Clinton will express support for the dialogue on the normalisation of relations, it said, adding that this "EU-facilitated dialogue is in the interest of both sides, its objective is to improve the lives of people, help solve problems and bring Serbia and Kosovo closer to the EU."

Last week in Brussels, Ashton held talks with Serbian Prime Minister Dacic and Kosovo Premier Thaci together for the first time, an EU source said.

EU-facilitated talks aimed at easing strain in the western Balkans began early in the year but at a lower level.

Serbia rejects Kosovo's unilateral 2008 proclamation of independence, which is recognised by some 90 states including 22 of the EU's 27 members and the United States.

The talks so far have yielded several agreements aimed at ending daily headaches for citizens on both sides, such as the mutual recognition of university degrees or returning property records.

However, the talks were halted after Serbia held elections in May and Brussels has been stepping up the pressure for them to be resumed.

Serbia is an EU candidate member and Kosovo hopes to formalise ties but the bloc has made clear to both that they must re-enter the talks and show concrete results.