(BRUSSELS) - The European Union welcomed Tuesday the formation of a pro-Europe government in Serbia and urged it to press ahead with reforms needed for rapprochement with the bloc.

"I look forward to working closely with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic and his colleagues," EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said in a statement.

"The European Union expects the new government to push forward reforms and meet the necessary conditions for Serbia to move closer to the EU," he said.

"It is now up to Serbia to make the vision of its European future a practical reality."

After a day of debate on Monday, 127 of 164 deputies present in the Serbian parliament voted for the new cabinet led by Cvetkovic, while 27 MPs were against. Ten deputies did not vote.

The coalition is an unlikely union between pro-Europeans and the Socialists of late strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

Brussels and Belgrade have been at odds over Kosovo's decision in February to break away from Serbia; a move recognised by most EU nations.

European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso also urged the new government to step up cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal; a key condition for the EU to apply an accord on closer ties with Belgrade.

"I would urge you to build on recent developments by taking the necessary steps to achieve full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) as soon as possible," he said.

"This will allow for the speedy implementation of the recently signed Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) and can pave the way towards candidate status of the European Union."

The UN court, based in The Hague, notably wants to try former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic on charges of genocide over the massacre in Srebrenica in 1995.

Mladic was thought to have been in hiding in Serbia.

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