Serbia will ask the European Union for more time to negotiate a deal to tackle the ethnic partition of its former Kosovo province, Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday, a decision that could cost it talks on joining the bloc, Reuters reported. But the coalition government called for the “urgent” continuation of negotiations to reach an accord, with the EU set to consider this month whether to recommend the start of accession talks with Serbia. Membership talks would mark a major milestone in Serbia’s recovery from a decade of war and isolation under late strongman Slobodan Milosevic and provide a much-needed boost for its ailing economy. The EU had set a Tuesday deadline for Kosovo and Serbia to accept the principles on the table after talks ended last week without result. Kosovo, which broke away from Serbia in a 1998-99 war and declared independence in 2008, had already said it was ready to sign the deal.



