Luxembourg - European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg were optimistic about the chances of Serbia being asked to sign a key EU pre-membership deal as soon as Tuesday.

"The Netherlands and Belgium have been very flexible and put forward several proposals, because we want to give the Serb people a signal that we care about them and that their future is in Europe," Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said.

"Since we are very flexible, it is up to our partners to arrive at a common position," he added.

Prior to Tuesday's meeting, the Netherlands and Belgium had strongly opposed the signature of the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with Serbia, insisting that Belgrade must first show that it is cooperating fully with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague.

This means handing over all remaining war-crimes suspects, most notably Ratko Mladic, the Bosnian-Serb commander indicted for genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes, to the ICTY.

Ministers meeting in Luxembourg planned to work on a compromise solution that would involve Serbia's SAA not coming into effect until its full cooperation with the ICTY was proven.

"They have to assist the (ICTY's) chief prosecutor and the hunt for Mladic has to go on until he is on the plane for The Hague," Verhagen said.

Javier Solana, the EU's foreign policy chief, said he believed it possible "for the differences to be overcome" in Luxembourg, noting that Serbian President Boris Tadic and Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic had both been invited to attend a possible signing ceremony.

"We are working towards a signature today," added Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU.

EU officials hope that the prompt signing of the SAA might give Tadic, Jeremic and other pro-European forces that are campaigning for the country's May 11 parliamentary elections an edge over its nationalist parties.

"We have to show that our hearts are open to welcoming Serbia," said Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Hasselborn ahead of the meeting.

"If we sign (the SAA) after the election, the positive EU signals for the pro-European forces in serbia will not have the same value," he added.

EU ministers were also expected to offer the signing of an SAA to Bosnia-Herzegovina, following the country's agreement to reform its police reform, as requested by Brussels.

However, the actual signature was not expected to take place before the text was translated into all 23 EU languages. (dpa)