Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has urged the EU to quicken the process of his country’s membership to stop a nationalist takeover of the government which could spawn instability in Balkans.

Jeremic calls on EU to sign a trade agreement, as the first step to enter membership, and to ease the re-election of pro-western President Boris Tadic against the anti-EU challenger.

EU governments have asked the Serbia to arrests the remaining war-crimes suspects from 1990s Yugoslav conflicts before signing of the trade pact.

Jeremic said, “Closing the deal would give a significant boost to the pro-European candidacy. And everybody is expecting the signing. So if it does not happen, conversely, it is going to be a significant blow.”

About the EU referendum, Jeremic said, “It’s going to be a referendum toward Europe or away from Europe. A defeat for pro-EU camp would mean that our goal of joining the European Union would probably end up being delayed for the next generation or more.”

Jeremic called on the European Union for signing the trade pact at a scheduled EU-Serbia meeting Jan. 28 in Brussels.

Netherlands has led the opposition to the signing. It demanded that Serbia to display its democratic credentials by arresting former Bosnian Serb General Ratko Mladic, who is charged with directing the 1995 Srebrenica massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims.

While talking about Kosovo, Jeremic said that Kosovo will remain legal part of Serbia. The US and EU attempted to win the statehood but it was blocked by Russia, Serbia’s ally, in the UN Security Council.

“Serbia is remaining firmly on a position that it’s only through a peaceful status dialogue that we can achieve a future status of Kosovo,” said Jeremic.

Russia has threatened to veto any UN backing for Kosovo independence.