The EU sought yesterday to sway Yugoslavia's elections, saying it would lift sanctions if Serbians voted next Sunday to oust President Slobodan Milosevic.
In a "message to the Serbian people," the foreign ministers said the EU would also offer economic aid for reconstruction if Serbians embraced "necessary economic and political reforms".
"These elections will give the Serbian people a chance for democratic change. It is up to them to seize the opportunity by turning out to vote," it said. "A vote for democracy in Serbia will be a vote for Serbia in Europe."
The statement was the strongest yet from the EU in support of Mr Milosevic's democratic rivals, diplomats in Brussels said.
It followed a pledge the foreign ministers made at an informal meeting in Evian, France, earlier this month to undertake a "radical" change in policy towards Belgrade if Mr Milosevic goes.
Mr Vojislav Kostunica, standing under the banner of the 18-party Democratic Opposition of Serbia, is leading Mr Milosevic in pre-election public opinion polls.
But many European and US observers expect Mr Milosevic will manipulate the outcome in his favour, after stepping up repression against independent media and opposition activists.
"The elections, whatever the circumstances under which they have been decided and organised, will give the Serbian people the opportunity to repudiate clearly and peacefully the policy of Mr Milosevic, which consists of political manipulation, deprivation of liberty and impoverishment of the population," the EU statement said.
"We reaffirm that a choice leading to democratic change will entail a radical change in the European Union's policy with regard to Serbia: we will lift the sanctions against the FRY, we will support the necessary economic aid for its reconstruction, and we will support the reintegration of the FRY into the international community," it said.
FRY is the acronym for Yugoslavia's official name, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which comprises Serbia and the republic of Montenegro.
The EU statement avoided specifying when sanctions would be lifted if Mr Milosevic were defeated. But one European diplomat said: "I don't think there will be a tremendous delay."
The sanctions include: a ban on oil deliveries, except to selected opposition-run cities; a visa ban and freeze on the assets of Mr Milosevic, his family and close political allies; and restrictions on those in Serbia with whom EU businesses can trade.
In June the European Commission estimated that aid to a democratic Serbia could total €2.3 billion over seven years, or double EU spending in the UN-administered Yugoslav province of Kosovo.
The EU statement did not mention whether a new government in Belgrade would be expected to turn over Mr Milosevic to the UN war crimes tribunal, which has indicted him for war crimes committed in Kosovo.