European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said Monday the EU hoped the victory at the coming elections in Serbia would be claimed by the political forces that were fully committed to European integration and regional cooperation.

At a roundtable on regional cooperation, organized by the Brussels-based European Policy Centre, Fuele was addressed by a number of journalists asking him questions about the elections in Serbia, to which he refused to respond initially.

Had I wanted to call a press conference about the Serbian elections, I would have done just that, said the commissioner.

But he touched on the topic later on.

If you ask me whether we hope of getting an administration that will be even more committed to regional cooperation and European integration, the answer is yes, and we are looking forward to our cooperation with them, Fuele said.

He said that Brussels's standpoint was that local elections cannot be held in Kosovo, but the parliamentary and presidential ones could.

Those with voting rights in Kosovo should be enabled to cast their votes, Fuele said, adding that negotiations about that were underway between Belgrade, Pristina and the OSCE.

The European commissioner said that the deadline for reaching an agreement on the way to conduct the Serbian elections in Kosovo was to expire soon, expressing the hope that a solution would be reached as it was the only way to ensure a secure and democratic procedure.

The general elections will be held in Serbia on May 6.

Fuele said he was “very unhappy” about the different interpretations of the agreements reached between Belgrade and Pristina so far.

I expect Belgrade and Pristina to implement in letter and in spirit the agreement on integrated border management and regional cooperation after the elections.

Fuele made the statements after Hido Biscevic, the chairman of the Sarajevo-based Regional Cooperation Council, voiced his belief that unresolved issues, especially the Kosovo issue, were hindering cooperation in the region.

I believe there is no need explaining how important the reaching of agreements in the talks was for the EU member states to approve the candidate status for Serbia and for the European perspective of Kosovo, stressed Fuele.

Both Belgrade and Pristina are well aware that to give up on the dialogue would reflect very badly on their respective European integration processes, Fuele said