EU officials blast Serbia after the Butcher of Bosnia, Ratko Mladic, given hero’s funeral

BELGRADE — The heads of the EU’s two main institutions have condemned the presence of senior Serbian officials at the funeral of the convicted war criminal in statements published simultaneously on X Tuesday morning.Ratko Mladić, the Serbian general convicted of orchestrating the worst massacre in Europe since World War II, has been given a hero’s funeral attended by thousands in Belgrade despite international alarm.Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia” for ​his role during the Balkans genocide in the 1990s, Mladić died in prison in late August aged 84 while serving a life sentence for war crimes and crimes against humanity.Images of the large turnout for the funeral of Ratko Mladic in Belgrade were “shocking”, ​European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ​said on Tuesday, in comments that ​were echoed by European Council ‌president ⁠Antonio Costa.”Ratko Mladić was a convicted war criminal. He was responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity,” von der Leyen and Costa wrote, adding they could undermine Serbia’s ⁠plans for accession to ​the EU.Mladić, known as the Butcher of Bosnia, died in late August aged 84 in a UN detention facility in The Hague. The Bosnian Serb had served in the Army of Republika Srpska with the rank of colonel-general during the Yugoslav Wars.Mladić was found guilty of genocide in 2017 for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, in which about 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serb forces overran the UN-designated enclave.But he has remained a beloved figure among many Serbs, with the president, Aleksandar Vučić, arguing last month for him to be released early from a UN detention facility in The Hague so he could die on Serbian soil.Following his death, his body was flown to Belgrade on a state plane, given an honor guard by the Serbian military and various security forces, and commemorated by the public broadcaster and the Serbian Orthodox Church. His coffin was wrapped in a Serbian flag.On Friday, the glorification of the war criminal attracted the ire of senior EU officials, national ministers and diplomats, while Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos warned the funeral would be an “important test” for Serbia’s accession bid.”He died while serving a life sentence for the Srebrenica genocide and other crimes. The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable,” von der Leyen said in her post.On Monday, the Commission’s chief spokesperson, Paula Pinho, caused a public backlash after telling the daily press conference that “we had heard that there was a funeral foreseen with state honours, and that has not been the case.””Five ministers from the Serbian Government were seated in the front row at the funeral, a convicted war criminal was given military honours, and his body was flown in on a Serbian Government aircraft,” the official X account of the Foreign Ministry of Bosnia and Herzegovina wrote, calling Pinho’s statement “a disgrace to the entire European Union.”Von der Leyen and Costa’s statements appear to cement the EU’s institutional condemnation of Mladić’s glorification, stressing that Serbia’s failure to confront a dark chapter of European history contradicts the values underpinning EU membership. It also marks a sharp escalation from warning to institutional condemnation.In July, the Commission tried to revive Serbia’s accession bid by putting the opening of Cluster 3 back on the table. Eight member states blocked the move, citing rule-of-law concerns and Belgrade’s failure to align with EU sanctions against Russia.”Everyone can see that, following this heinous glorification of Mladić, the opening of Cluster 3 is completely out of the question for now,” an EU diplomat told Euronews, speaking on condition of anonymity.Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos cancelled her planned visit to Serbia, while a Commission spokesperson denied that von der Leyen had ever had a visit to Serbia planned at all.Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić called for snap parliamentary elections to take place in late October.