Serbian president awaits EU signal on membership

By Adam Tanner

VIENNA (Reuters) - Serbia will probably apply next month for eventual European Union membership, but will first wait for a green light from Brussels to proceed, the country's president said on Sunday.

"It is up to the Europeans," Boris Tadic told Reuters. "Then we will analyse and decide."

As he waited on the Vienna airport tarmac to pick up a bag after arriving from Belgrade, Tadic was asked whether Serbia would put in its application in December to begin the long accession process. "Probably," he replied.

As president, Tadic, who travelled in economy class and carried his own luggage, has ultimate say on Serbia's application.

Like the other former Yugoslav states, Serbia aspires to join the EU but has been hampered by its failure to capture suspected war criminal General Ratko Mladic and send him to the international tribunal in The Hague.

The EU -- with strong insistence from the Netherlands -- has said Serbia cannot proceed with EU integration until Mladic is captured.

Other European countries, satisfied that Tadic and his pro-European government are doing all they can to apprehend Mladic and another wanted war criminal, privately suggest Serbia should apply soon to further its cause.

With an EU summit scheduled for next month in Brussels, Tadic has scheduled several high-level visits in the coming weeks, including to Italy and Germany, with the country's EU prospects a key issue of discussion.