Hopes for Pro-EU Serbia

German Foreign Minister and EU Council President Frank-Walter Steinmeier welcomed the results of the Serbian elections, in which the ultra-nationalist Radical Party won the most votes, but not enough to form a new government.

"More than two-thirds of the seats will go to the democratic forces," Steinmeier said on Monday in Brussels. "As far as I can tell, this is a good basis for Serbia to form a government that will put it on the European path."

The Radical Party claimed victory in Serbian general elections on Sunday after estimations put the formation in front, but conceded it had failed to get an outright majority and was unlikely to form a government.

Based on partial, unofficial results, the Radical Party had garnered 28.7 percent of votes. The Center for Free Elections and Democracy (CeSID) said the Radicals were followed by the pro-European Democratic Party (DS) with 22.9 percent and the conservative Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) with 16.7 percent.

Pro-European coalition expected

"I hope very much that there could be the formation of a government with pro-European and democratic forces," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of European Union foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

"The majority from the elections is a majority which is for democratic forces," Solana said.

As Solana spoke, EU ambassadors were meeting to draw up a position on the polls for the ministers to debate over lunch.

Officials in Brussels have said the bloc dearly wanted to see a moderate coalition emerge that is ready to cooperate with the UN war crimes court, possibly leading to the unblocking of talks on closer ties.

Mounting problems

But the strength of the Serbian Radical Party -- whose president Vojislav Seselj is awaiting trial at the UN court -- means it could take a long time to form a coalition, which could raise tensions in Kosovo with its ethnic Albanian majority increasingly impatient for independence.

"It's up to the Serbs what government they form, but I think their approach should be a European one," said Luxembourg's foreign minister, Jean Asselborn.

The EU froze a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Belgrade in May chiefly for its failure to surrender to the tribunal former Bosnian Serb army chief Ratko Mladic, who was believed to be hiding in Serbia.

The accord is a first step for Balkan states to join Europe's rich club, and Serbia is desperate to enter the bloc and rebuild its economy

"Everyone knows what they have to do as far as the SAA is concerned, but we will have to see," Asselborn said.

"Cooperation with the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia) must be perfect, and you need a democratic government," he said.