EU’s Ashton to make first Balkan visit next week

Ashton said she wanted to strengthen relations between the EU and the Balkan region, but refused to say when Serbia could expect to join EU.

VIENNA, February 12, 2010 (AFP) - EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said Friday she would make her first trip to the Balkans shortly, following talks with Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger in Vienna.

"My purpose in going to Bosnia, Serbia and Kosovo is first to listen to politicians but also civil society and to send very clear messages... (on) what our relationship can be for the future," Ashton told a press conference here.

The date of the trip was not yet set but sources in Brussels said it could take place on February 18.

Ashton said she wanted to strengthen relations between the EU and the Balkan region, but refused to say when Serbia could expect to join the 27-member union however.

Belgrade officially applied for a EU membership in December, after Brussels introduced a visa-free travel regime for Serbian citizens and unfroze a free trade accord following Serbia's increased cooperation with The Hague-based war crimes tribunal.

It hopes to be granted candidate status this year and join the EU in 2014.