Brussels sees clear pro EU signal in Serbia vote

(BRUSSELS) - EU leaders said Monday Serbia's voters had given "a very clear signal' of support to the country's drive to join the bloc and urged nationalist president-elect Tomislav Nikolic to pursue that path.

"In these elections the Serbian people have given a very clear signal of support to the continued European orientation of government policy," said the respective presidents of the European Union and European Commission, Herman Van Rompuy and Jose Manuel Barroso.

"Serbia entered these elections having freshly been granted candidate country status," they added, referring to a March decision that opened the door to eventual membership in response to moves by pro-European incumbent Boris Tadic.

Tadic brought the once pariah state to the EU dooorstep after handing over wanted war crimes fugitives Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadzic and agreeing to talks between Belgrade and Pristina to improve ties between Serbia and Kosovo.

Nikolic, a recent convert to the EU cause but who has warned he will not bring the country in at any cost, pledged after his victory Sunday to remain on a pro-European course.

"Serbia will not turn away from the European path," Nikolic said.

In their statement, the EU leaders said Serbia's leadership "has now received a strong mandate to pursue this policy and move quickly to the next step of its European integration: the start of accession negotiations once the necessary conditions are met".

"We strongly encourage president Nikolic to pursue this direction with particular determination in order to achieve the additional progress that would allow the European Commission to recommend the opening of accession negotiations."

"This will require a high sense of statesmanship," they added.