By David Brunnstrom and Mark John
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Serbia signed a long-delayed pact oncloser ties with the European Union on Tuesday, a first steptowards eventual membership, days before a parliamentaryelection.
The accord had been held up over Serbia's failure to arrestand hand over key war crime indictees such as wartime BosnianSerb general Ratko Mladic, charged with genocide over the 1995Srebrenica massacre of some 8,000 Bosnian Muslims.
Under a compromise proposed by the Netherlands and Belgium,the 27 EU states agreed not to ratify the pact nor give Serbiaits trade or aid benefits until all agree that Belgrade isfully cooperating with the U.N. war crimes tribunal.
But the EU hopes signing the pact will bolster PresidentBoris Tadic's pro-Western reformers in the May 11 election.Polls currently show nationalists have a slight lead, boostedby anger at the Western-backed secession of Kosovo in February.
"We have sent today a very strong signal from the EU toSerbia and the Serb people ... that the EU wants Serbia to jointhe European family," said Dimitrij Rupel, foreign minister ofEU president Slovenia.
"It is undoubtedly the right decision, particularly asSerbia faces a big choice over the next few weeks domestically,that the EU makes it very clear Serbia has a European home,"said Britain's Europe minister Jim Murphy.
Separately, the EU failed to agree on another tough issue-- a mandate to start long-stalled partnership negotiationswith Russia -- after Lithuania demanded assurances on energysecurity and other Russian policies.
CANDIDATE HOPES
The Serbia agreement was signed in Luxembourg by EUministers and Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister Bozidar Djelic,who is in charge of European integration, in the presence ofTadic.
The Serbian president must now explain the step to asceptical public. He insisted that even with the conditionsimposed on the pact, Serbia would see immediate advantages andcould hope to win official EU candidate status this year.
"This will bring swift economic benefits and tradingcontacts," he told a news conference, adding he hoped a newcontract with Italian car-maker Fiat could be signed soon.
In Belgrade, nationalist Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunicatold state news agency Tanjug the signature was meaningless andthat after the election the new parliament and government wouldannul the deal.
"We'll never allow anyone to sign Kosovo's independence onSerbia's behalf," he said.
Slovenia's Rupel said implementation of the deal would"depend on the assessment of the (EU) Council whether fullcooperation (with the U.N. war crimes tribunal) has been inplace".
Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said he wouldwelcome Serbia as an EU candidate only if it lived up tocommitments to track fugitives such as Mladic.
"Otherwise it will never be possible," he said, stressingMladic must be "on the plane" to the U.N. war crimes tribunalin the Hague before further steps on ties could be taken.
EU ministers also agreed to sign as soon as possible asimilar agreement with Serbia's neighbour Bosnia.
Bosnia's Foreign Ministry said Sarajevo was keen to haveSerbia stable and moving towards the EU, but thought the timingshowed double standards as it had fulfilled EU conditions buthad not been given a signing date yet.
Kosovo's deputy Prime Minister Hajredin Kuci hailed themove without reserve: "Kosovo supports the EU path, not justfor our state but for the entire region," he said in Pristina.
(Additional reporting by Ingrid Melander in Luxembourg andEllie Tzortzi in Belgrade, Maja Zuvela in Sarajevo and FatosBytyci in Pristina; writing by Mark John; editing by RichardMeares)