Leading candidates back EU bid ahead of Serbia vote - by Matt Robinson

When Serbia's opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic took the stage at his presidential campaign finale, the sun bathed Republic Square in Belgrade and Eighties rock blared on loud-speakers over the young crowd.

Gone were the grim posters of war crimes fugitives and the bloody anthems of Serb nationalism that shadowed Nikolic the last time he ran for president in 2008. The mood was more party than patriotic, and reflected a shift in the political landscape as the former Yugoslav republic votes for a new president and parliament on Sunday.

For the first time since the ouster of Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 after a decade of war and isolation, Serbia's main political forces have the same goal: membership of the European Union.When Serbia's opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic took the stage at his presidential campaign finale, the sun bathed Republic Square in Belgrade and Eighties rock blared on loud-speakers over the young crowd.

Gone were the grim posters of war crimes fugitives and the bloody anthems of Serb nationalism that shadowed Nikolic the last time he ran for president in 2008. The mood was more party than patriotic, and reflected a shift in the political landscape as the former Yugoslav republic votes for a new president and parliament on Sunday.

For the first time since the ouster of Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 after a decade of war and isolation, Serbia's main political forces have the same goal: membership of the European Union.When Serbia's opposition leader Tomislav Nikolic took the stage at his presidential campaign finale, the sun bathed Republic Square in Belgrade and Eighties rock blared on loud-speakers over the young crowd.

Read more: Leading candidates back EU bid ahead of Serbia vote - Chicago Tribune