Just two days ahead of the presidential elections in Serbia, the European Union announced Friday it will be starting talks on the possible lifting of visa requirements for Serbian citizens.

"Today the European Commission has decided to launch a visa-free dialogue with Serbia," justice affairs spokesman Friso Roscam Abbing told reporters.

He said Brussels would begin, with a first meeting in Belgrade on January 30, a "structured dialogue with the Serbian authorities on a future visa-free regime for Serbian citizens travelling to the European Union."

"This announcement... restates the political commitments taken by the EU vis-a-vis Serbia and reconfirms the European perspective of Serbia," he said, adding that talks will start at a technical level at the end of this month.

Abbing added that similar talks with other Western Balkan stakes would begin in coming weeks and months.

The regime almost certainly would not apply to ethnic Albanians living in the Serbian province of Kosovo, whose leaders are set to breakaway in coming weeks.

The announcement comes ahead of presidential elections in Serbia on Sunday, with pro-European President Boris Tadic trailing his ultra-nationalist rival in opinion polls.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!