Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, is to discuss Pakistan and the Balkans during talks with European Union official in Brussels on Thursday (14 October). Clinton will be in Brussels for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, whose main aim is to discuss the alliance’s new strategic concept, to be adopted by NATO leaders at their summit in Lisbon in November.

In Brussels, Clinton is to meet Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, Catherine Ashton, the EU’s foreign policy chief, and Jerzy Buzek, the president of the European Parliament. She will be joined by Richard Holbrooke, the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who will attend a meeting of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, a group of countries with an interest in Pakistan’s stability.

Clinton’s visit follows talks in Sarajevo, Belgrade and Pristina tomorrow and Wednesday. In Sarajevo, Clinton is to open a new US embassy compound and meet the members of the country’s tripartite presidency. She will also discuss the situation in the country with Valentin Inzko, the EU’s special representative. It is expected that Clinton will also meet Milorad Dodik, the newly elected president of Republika Srpska, the Bosnian Serb region.

Serbia-Kosovo talks

In Belgrade, Clinton will meet Boris Tadić, Serbia’s president, and other senior officials. The talks are expected to focus on the forthcoming talks between Serbia and Kosovo, which the EU is to mediate. It is not yet clear if the US will take a formal role of its own in the talks, which the EU would like to start as soon as possible.

Serbian officials suggest that Clinton will press EU member states to move on Serbia’s membership application as soon as possible. The Dutch parliament wants to wait with a referral of the application by EU member states to the European Commission for a month or two and is likely to instruct the incoming government accordingly. In November, Serge Brammertz, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), is to report on Serbia’s co-operation with the court.

In Pristina, Clinton is scheduled to meet Hashim Thaci, the prime minister, and Jakub Krasniqi, the acting president. Kosovo is likely to hold an early election in February and March, complicating any talks with Belgrade. Clinton will also visit a mainly Serb municipality outside Pristina.

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