Serbians will vote in snap polls Sunday, with the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) tipped to capitalise on a wave of public support after successfully opening talks on EU membership.

Some 6.7 million voters have been called to the polls to elect a new 250-seat parliament with a four-year mandate in the early vote called after Belgrade launched talks in January with Brussels to join the European Union.

Long seen as a pariah for its role in the 1990s Balkan wars, Serbia, the largest country to emerge after the break-up of Yugoslavia, now hopes to join the 28-member bloc by 2020.

The outgoing government led by Socialist Prime Minister Ivica Dacic won support from Brussels to begin membership talks only after a historic accord with its long-time foe Kosovo last year.

But Kosovo, once the most sensitive issue in Serbia which still refuses to recognise its 2008 declaration of independence, has now been overshadowed by the dire economic situation in the country of 7.2 million people.