EU Condemns Serbian Ministers for Attending Funeral of Convicted War Criminal Ratko Mladic

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa have strongly condemned the presence of several senior Serbian officials at the funeral of war criminal Ratko Mladic. The EU leaders stated on Tuesday in identical posts on X that images of the commemoration in Serbia, an EU membership candidate, were shocking and demonstrated a failure to confront Europe's dark recent history.

Serbia’s Justice Minister Nenad Vujic had initially planned state honors for Mladic, prompting international backlash and leading President Aleksandr Vucic to downgrade the event. Despite the adjustments, attendees included Serbia’s defense and justice ministers, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and officials from Republika Srpska, including President Sinisa Karan, alongside Russia’s ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko. Although President Aleksandr Vucic did not attend, his son was present and he characterized the event as an emotional outpouring.

Mladic passed away in The Hague last month at the age of 84 while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. His legacy is indelibly tied to the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, where forces under his command systematically killed more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys. In response to the funeral proceedings, Bosnia downgraded its diplomatic relations and recalled most of its embassy staff from Belgrade.

The incident deepens tensions between Brussels and Belgrade ahead of the EU's upcoming annual assessment of candidate countries. Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had previously canceled a trip to Belgrade, warning that glorifying Mladic would violate the bloc's core values. While Brussels evaluates the impact of these events on Serbia's accession path and potential funding, the EU leadership's response has also drawn scrutiny from critics comparing it to the bloc's stance on other international conflicts.