EU leaders welcome Serbia's pro-EU vote, urge pro-EU coalition

May 12, 2008, 12:04 GMT

Brussels - Two of the EU's top foreign-policy officials welcomed the result Monday of Serbia's snap parliamentary elections, in which pro-EU forces scored a convincing win, and urged Serbia's politicians to form a pro-EU government quickly.

The European Commission, the EU's executive, 'welcomes the success of the reformist forces that share European values. This should enable swiftly forming a new government,' EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said.

'I hope that a new government can be formed rapidly, which would be strongly committed to reforms and to meeting the necessary conditions for further progress towards Europe,' EU foreign-policy chief Javier Solana said.

'The EU would give such a government all its support,' Solana said.

EU leaders have long urged Serbia to maintain a pro-EU course as a way of promoting stability and European influence in the region. Shortly before Sunday's election, they signed a long-awaited pre- membership deal with Serbia and offered free visas to most Serb citizens in an effort to boost pro-EU sentiment in the country.

The election handed the largest share of the vote to the bloc led by the pro-EU Democratic Party (DS), but left it needing the support of at least two other parties to form a government.

On Monday, anti-EU forces said that they would open coalition talks themselves in an effort to form a government - a move likely to be viewed with concern in Brussels.

'I trust the new government will pursue the country's reform agenda and its path towards the EU. Serbia can become the engine of the Western Balkans and the EU is ready to accelerate its EU course - including candidate status,' Rehn said.