Serb radicalism threat puzzles EU

But France, the UK and the Netherlands raised concerns over the text, with Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot saying "There is no agreement yet...Of course we want to have this European perspective for Serbia but this ICTY [UN war crimes court] conditionality is very important for the Netherlands."

"We need to say we are open to restarting [EU accession] talks but there is still a high importance for the ICTY ," a French diplomat stated. "To send a signal that we are softening on war crimes just a few weeks before the elections would be the wrong thing to do."

Brussels suspended talks on closer ties with Serbia in May over its failure to hand over war crimes suspect Ratko Mladic to the UN, but its hard line on war trials and all-but-open EU support for Kosovo independence has seen the Radical Party of Vojislav Seselj grow in popularity in recent months.

Curently neck-and-neck in opinion polls with the pro-EU Democratic Party of president Boris Tadic, Mr Seselj's far-right group has threatened to break off its participation in EU and NATO accession mechanisms and to take back Kosovo by force if the UN gives Pristina sovereignty next year.

"If you have radicals at the wheel it will always make [EU integration] more difficult," an EU diplomat commented on the elections risk, with the international community already handling Mr Tadic a series of political gifts in the run-up to the poll.

The EU last Friday opened visa facilitation talks with Belgrade while NATO in November invited Belgrade to join its "Partnership for Peace" programme with US diplomat Dan Fried openly saying the move was designed to help "our Serbian friends", Mr Tadic and current prime minister Kostunica.

Asked if the EU and NATO's recent manoeuvring on Serbia amounts to interference in the election process, an EU official said "The general policy in this region is to use language that creates a positive climate for reform, that is favourable to EU concerns."