EU says pro-EU win will speed Serbian membership

By David Brunnstrom and Marja Novak

BRUSSELS/LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - The European Union welcomed what it called a "clear victory" of the pro-EU Democrats in Serbia's election on Sunday and said it meant Serbia would move faster towards EU membership, if it met conditions.

A statement from the Slovenian EU presidency said it hoped for the quick formation of a government with a "clear European agenda".

"Provided that the necessary conditions are met ... this should enable Serbia to advance further on its EU path, including the candidate status," it said.

Serbia's pro-European Union president, Boris Tadic, claimed victory over his main nationalist rival in the parliamentary election, but was short of the number of seats needed to form a governing majority. His nationalist opponent said he had no right to claim victory yet.

The poll was fought on whether Serbs should swallow their anger over EU support for the independence of Kosovo, the Serb province which seceded in February, or turn their backs on the bid for EU membership, Tadic's top priority.

The independent monitoring organization CESID said Tadic's Democratic Party and two smaller allies were set to take about 39 percent of the vote, against 28.6 percent for the nationalist Radicals of opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic.

The projection would give Tadic's coalition around 103 seats in the 250-seat assembly. But Nikolic's Radicals could form a larger bloc with like-minded parties, which together were projected to be close to an overall majority with 48.4 percent.

It was not yet clear whether the small Liberal Democratic Party had managed to cross the 5 percent threshold needed for seats. If not, Tadic would lose a vital potential ally.