Serb Parliament ratifies pact for closer EU ties

Serbia's Parliament overwhelmingly backed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU yesterday, a move expected to cement the nation's bid for membership of the bloc.

The pact will be fully implemented only when EU officials are satisfied Serbia has fully cooperated with the war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

Closer ties with the EU, which had backed the independence of Kosovo, led to the fall of the government in March with nationalists seeking to annul the accord and freeze Serbia's EU membership bid until the EU revokes recognition of Kosovo.

The 250-seat Parliament ratified the accord in a final round of voting with 140 deputies in favour and 28 against.

The money market welcomed the vote as good news, with the dinar currency gaining 0.2 per cent to trade in a range of 76.35/76.55 to the euro. The stock market remained unimpressed, with the main index of 15 most actively traded assets falling 1.42 per cent to 1,286.53 points.

The vote comes amid a major split in the nationalist Radical Party, previously the second strongest political force in the country which had opposed EU membership. Analysts say the formation by the party's second in command of a new dissent grouping could weaken the Radicals influence in the future.