Top European Union leaders expressed astonishment on Tuesday following Serbia’s honoring of Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb general who passed away while serving a life sentence for war crimes, raising doubts about Serbia’s readiness to join the EU. Mladic was laid to rest in Belgrade with full military honors, accompanied by the Serbian Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Porfirije leading the funeral service and Serbian army soldiers carrying his flag-draped coffin at the burial site. Despite being convicted of committing genocide and labeled the “Butcher of Bosnia,” Mladic remains a revered figure among many Serbs.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa condemned the official support and attendance of senior Serbian officials at Mladic’s funeral, describing it as a failure to acknowledge Europe’s dark past and conflicting with Serbia’s EU aspirations. The EU is now assessing the implications on Serbia’s EU membership bid.
The funeral was attended by Serbian government ministers, Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik, and the Russian ambassador in Serbia, among others. Despite the absence of President Aleksandar Vucic, his son attended, while Serbia’s Justice Minister Nenad Vujic stood with Mladic’s family. Vujic emphasized that the authorities ensured order at the funeral, although the family oversaw the proceedings.
Mladic was found guilty of genocide for his involvement in the Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo, resulting in thousands of casualties. The UK condemned the involvement of Serbian state and military officials in the funeral, stating that glorifying a war criminal undermines reconciliation and regional stability in the Western Balkans.
The EU is set to release its annual enlargement report soon, with Von der Leyen planning to tour the Western Balkans before its publication. The funeral’s glorification is expected to negatively impact Serbia’s EU membership prospects, which were already hindered by democratic setbacks and financial concerns. Despite Vucic’s ties to the EU’s major political group, the European People’s Party, criticism of Serbia’s actions persists within the EU’s political circles.
