EU may soon offer Serbia easier visas: presidency

By Marja Novak

LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - European Union president Slovenia said on Wednesday the 27-nation bloc could soon offer Serbia a new liberal visa regime to give its citizens an incentive to support the goal of EU membership.

"What we can offer is an agreement on a visa regime that would be significantly more favorable than the present one," Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Slovenia this week.

"This agreement could be available shortly and I hope signed before the (Serbian) election," Rupel told Reuters.

Serbia will hold an election on May 11, after its 10-month-old ruling coalition collapsed this month over the loss of Kosovo which declared independence on February 17.

The landmark vote, regarded in Brussels as a referendum for or against European integration, will pit the hardline nationalist opposition Radical Party against the pro-European reformists of Serbian President Boris Tadic and the conservative nationalists of Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica.

A majority of young Serbs have never left their country because most neighboring states are bound by EU rules to impose tight restrictions on issuing visas, partly as a consequence of the wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s triggered by the late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic.

Rupel could not say whether Serbia would sign an interim political accord with the EU offered in February before Slovenia's EU presidency ends on June 30.

The Belgrade government was unable to agree on signing the accord because of the EU's stance on Kosovo's secession, which most member states have recognized.

"The interim agreement is still waiting. I can sign it now if they (Serbians) want," he said.

TALKS WITH RUSSIA

Rupel said he was confident that negotiations between the EU and Russia on a new partnership agreement would start during Slovenia's presidency, adding there was a need to ensure greater European unity in relations with Moscow.

"We believe, hope that negotiations on the partnership and cooperation agreement with Russia will start in the time of our presidency. There are some minor obstacles which are being removed so I am fairly optimistic," he said.

The launching of the EU-Russia talks, expected to run for several years, is part of a broader effort to improve ties between the West and Moscow.

Rupel said Slovenia supported a push by Georgia and Ukraine to be put on a path to eventual NATO membership despite protests from Russia.

"The decision is on the side of Georgia and Ukraine. If those two countries want a (NATO) membership action plan, Slovenia understands and supports this wish," he said.