The European Union (EU) signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia on Tuesday, which is a first step toward eventual EU membership for Western Balkan countries.

Serbian President Boris Tadic and EU officials signed the agreement in Luxembourg, on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

The signing of the deal was made possible after the Netherlands and Belgium dropped their opposition to the move Tuesday morning.

The two countries had previously insisted that Serbia must extradite key war crime suspects, especially former Bosnian Serb military leader Ratko Mladic, to the war crimes tribunal in The Hague before being awarded the SAA.

The EU's decision to sign the SAA with Serbia is seen as an attempt to strengthen the pro-Western forces in Serbia ahead of the early elections in the country on May 11, when President Tadic's Democrats will face off against the nationalist parties in Serbia.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2008)