EU condemns Serbia’s ministers for attending funeral of war criminal Mladic

EU leaders say the presence of senior Serb officials at the funeral of Ratko Mladic calls Serbia’s EU candidacy into question.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa have condemned the presence of several senior Serbian officials at the funeral of war criminal Ratko Mladic.

The EU leaders said on Tuesday in identical statements published on X that images of the previous day’s commemoration in Serbia – a candidate for EU membership – were “shocking”.

“The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable,” they said on X. “They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe’s recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia’s path towards the European Union.”

“Our thoughts are with all the victims of the crimes committed in the countries of former Yugoslavia,” they added.

Serbia’s Justice Minister Nenad Vujic had initially announced “military and state honours” for Mladic, drawing international protest and leading President Aleksandr Vucic to downgrade the event.

In attendance were Serbia’s defence and justice ministers, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and officials from the Bosnian Serb separatist entity, Republika Srpska, including President Sinisa Karan.

Russia’s ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, was also there.

Vucic himself did not attend the event. However, he described it as an “emotional outpouring”, and his son was present.

Mladic died in The Hague last month, aged ۸۴, while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the ۱۹۹۰s Bosnian War. He remains a hero to many Serbs.

His legacy is linked to the ۱۹۹۵ Srebrenica genocide, when forces under his command captured a Bosniak enclave and systematically killed more than ۸,۰۰۰ men and boys, an atrocity that has been ruled a genocide by a United Nations court.

Bosnia downgraded diplomatic relations and recalled most of its embassy staff from Belgrade in response to the funeral.

A barrier for accession

The rebuke sharpens a standoff between Brussels and Belgrade, weeks before the bloc publishes its annual assessment of EU membership applicant countries.

Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, charged with relations with candidate countries, had already cancelled a trip to Belgrade last week, saying the glorification of Mladic’s death would be incompatible with the blocs values and that the funeral would be “a test”.

Serbia’s membership prospects were already strained for other reasons. In April, Kos warned Belgrade it could lose access to about ۱.۵ billion euros ($۱.۸bn) in EU funds over irregularities in municipal elections.

Brussels has not yet announced how the incident will impact Serbia’s accession bid. Asked about possible consequences, von der Leyen’s spokesperson said the bloc was still “looking into it”.

Von der Leyen’s condemnation also drew questions from critics who have accused her of turning a blind eye to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted in The Hague for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians, the EU has refused to cut off trade and diplomatic relations with the country.

In a post on X, Bruno Macaes, former Portuguese secretary of state for European affairs, called the condemnations “embarrassing” given that “the list of crimes being condemned corresponds exactly to the list of crimes that were excused or supported by these same governments over the last three years” in Gaza.