EU sees Serb poll as chance to seal ties

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union officials said onMonday they were confident voters in Serbia would back pro-EUparties in a forthcoming parliamentary election after its10-month-old coalition collapsed over the loss of Kosovo.

A majority of the EU's 27 member states have recognised theindependence of the overwhelmingly Albanian territory, whichseceded from Serbia last month. The EU has begun deploying apolice and justice mission to help supervise the new state'sinstitutions, causing deep anger in Belgrade.

Nationalist Serb Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said onSaturday he was dissolving his government after failing toforce a decision suspending ties with the EU as long as itsmembers backed Kosovo's independence. State news agency Tanjugsaid the step was taken formally at a cabinet meeting onMonday, and a poll is now slated for May 11.

Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose countryholds the EU's rotating presidency, said he hoped for a victoryfor pro-European parties in the poll.

"Now with the election coming, I hope that the pro-EUforces will win ... I have seen encouraging signs," he toldreporters on arriving to chair a meeting of EU foreignministers.

"To be quite frank, I don't think there is any otherpossibility for our Serbian friends than the European Union.Where should they go?" he added.

Serbia pro-Western President Boris Tadic only narrowly wonre-election last month. The subsequent loss of Kosovo left manySerbs smarting and triggered mass protests and some attacks onthe embassies of countries that backed its independence.

France's Bernard Kouchner said several EU ministers hadsounded out a possible visit to Belgrade recently but were told"very brutally" that such a visit would not be welcome. He didnot elaborate.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the EU mustextend "the hand of friendship" to Serbia and ExternalRelations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said it was timeto offer Serbs easier visa procedures and other incentives.

"What we have to do is to show the Serbian population thatwe want them in the European Union," she said of Commissionproposals last week for an eventual phasing-out of visas, adoubling of scholarships and better EU-Serbia transport links.

"It is an opportunity to choose the European course morefirmly than they have done before," said Swedish ForeignMinister Carl Bildt, just back from a visit to Kosovo.

"Were Serbia to sink down into self-isolation, it wouldclearly be to the detriment of the economy, of politics ... ofSerbia, but also of the entire region. It would have decidedlynegative effects," he said.

The EU has initialled a so-called Stabilisation andAssociation Agreement with Belgrade as a first step on the longroad to membership, but has refused to sign the accord untilSerbia cooperates fully to arrest war crimes indictees.

(Writing by Mark John and Paul Taylor; Editing by JonBoyle)