EU foreign policy chief lauds Hillary Clinton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - If Sen. Hillary Clinton becomes the next U.S. secretary of state, she has a fan in European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on Friday, Solana said he had known Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, for a long time and the New York senator would be well received in Europe if she became the top U.S. diplomat.

"I think it would be very well taken if that is the case, at the end of the day," said Solana when asked how he thought European diplomats would react if President-elect Barack Obama chose her to head the State Department.

"She is capable, with experience. She is well known," he added. "Nothing seems to be negative."

A Democratic Party official said on Thursday that Obama was on track to name Clinton as secretary of state after the November 27 Thanksgiving holiday.

Solana said Clinton's husband was respected for his efforts in trying to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the final days of his administration.

"The name Clinton is well regarded," added Solana, who has had several key European diplomatic jobs, including NATO Secretary General until 1999.

Solana said he had not spoken to either Clinton during his current U.S. visit but that he had recently been in contact with Vice President-elect Joe Biden, who as a long-time member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its current chairman, is also well-known in foreign policy circles.

(Reporting by Sue Pleming, editing by Jackie Frank)