(LJUBLJANA) - The European Union wants Serbia to become a member and is ready to discuss its accession even if anti-EU nationalists win Sunday elections, Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said Friday.

"The EU can't influence the result of elections, we only want Serbia to become a member of the EU as soon as possible," Rupel told a news conference. Slovenia currently holds the presidency of the EU.

Serbia will hold general elections on Sunday, with parties polarised over the country's position towards the EU.

Pro-European Serbian leaders last week signed a so-called Stabilisation and Association Agreement -- a first step towards accession to the EU.

But eurosceptic nationalists, the Radical Party (SRS) led by Tomislav Nikolic and Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica's Democratic Party of Serbia (DSS), have vowed to annul the agreement.

They oppose any steps towards EU membership unless the 27-nation bloc acknowledges that Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence in February, remains part of Serbia.

"If Serbian voters elect Nikolic, the Radical Party, we will talk with those who have been appointed to represent the Serbian people," Rupel told journalists.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn urged Serbians to vote for pro-European candidates saying their victory "would be better for Serbia and for Europe."

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