Solana hails pro-European government deal

Solana hails pro-European government deal

The statement came one day after Serbian president Boris Tadić announced that his own Democratic Party (DS), prime minister Vojislav Koštunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS) and the G17 Plus party had finalized an agreement on forming a coalition government.

"I expect a swift and smooth process in the parliament to vote in the new government so that they quickly and determinately can continue the necessary reforms for Serbia to move closer to the EU and contribute to positive regional development and stability," Solana added.

With the creation of its new government, "it is now up to Serbia to make the vision of its European future a practical reality," Solana said Saturday.

"The European Union will fully support Serbia in this endeavor," he added.

The European Commission last May suspended talks on closer ties with Serbia over Belgrade's failure to hand over fugitives charged with war crimes, especially former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladić, to the United Nations war crimes court.

The EU has since been anxiously waiting for a changing of the guard in Belgrade in the hope that the new government would cooperate with the UN court, a condition for relaunching talks aimed at bringing Serbia closer to the 27-member bloc.

The EU German presidency also welcomed Saturday a deal between Serbia's main political parties to form a coalition.

The EU presidency said it hoped "that the future government will initiate the relevant reforms so that the negotiations with Serbia on a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Serbia, which have been on hold for the past year, can be resumed."