Ratko Mladic’s Belgrade Funeral Sparks EU Condemnation and Raises Questions About Serbia’s EU Path

Ratko Mladic, former commander of the Bosnian Serb army, was convicted in 2017 by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) of genocide for the July 1995 massacre of more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys in Srebrenica, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity during the siege of Sarajevo. He died while serving a life sentence in a The Hague prison on August 27.

EU weighing response after Mladic given funeral with state honours Thousands of Serbs Attend Ratko Mladic Funeral Amid EU Criticism EuronewsSerbian Rights Activist Slams Justice Minister Over Mladic Funeral EU Enlargement Commissioner cancels planned Serbia visit over war criminal Ratko Mladic glorification

After his death, Mladic’s body was flown to Belgrade on a Serbian government aircraft. Soldiers carried the coffin, draped in the national flag, to a van that received a police escort. The remains were taken to a military hospital for an autopsy before being displayed in a Belgrade church, where thousands queued to pay respects. The funeral service, conducted by Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, included a gun salute and a military band. Ministers for justice, culture, defence and public investment, Russia’s ambassador Alexander Bozan-Kharchenko, and President Aleksandar Vucic’s son Danilo attended; the president cited a pre-scheduled state visit and did not appear.

Thousands of Serbs Attend Ratko Mladic Funeral Amid EU Criticism EuronewsEU Enlargement Commissioner cancels planned Serbia visit over war criminal Ratko Mladic glorification EuronewsSerbia Buries War Criminal Mladic as EU Condemns Glorification - NewsFire.GR

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa condemned the “shocking” images from the funeral and reiterated that Mladic was a convicted war criminal.

EU weighing response after Mladic given funeral with state honours

• Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic announced that Mladic would receive “full state honours,” prompting outrage among EU officials.

Thousands of Serbs Attend Ratko Mladic Funeral Amid EU Criticism

EU officials, including the European External Action Service (EEAS) in a statement on September 7, warned that glorification and genocide denial “contradict fundamental European values” and could jeopardise Serbia’s accession prospects.

Serbia Buries War Criminal Mladic as EU Condemns Glorification - NewsFire.GR

Sources differ on whether state or military honours were officially granted:

Euronews

• DPA-International reported that Mladic was buried with “full state and military honours.”

Euronews

• Euronews noted that the burial was to occur “without state or military honours” and that no serving officials would attend.

Euronews

The exact number of attendees remains unclear; Serbian security services had projected “tens of thousands.”

Thousands of Serbs Attend Ratko Mladic Funeral Amid EU Criticism

• Thousands of mourners gathered at the church display and funeral site.

Euronews

• Security agencies described the required protection as “a demanding job.”

Euronews

EU officials say any decision on further sanctions or freezing of support payments to Serbia will be considered after the funeral proceedings. Serbia’s snap parliamentary elections are scheduled for the end of October, and the handling of the funeral is expected to influence domestic politics and the EU accession dialogue.

Serbia Buries War Criminal Mladic as EU Condemns Glorification - NewsFire.GR

• “I abhor the public glorification of Ratko Mladic, a deceased war criminal convicted for the Srebrenica genocide and crimes against humanity,” — O'Flaherty

Euronews

• “We have been persecuted and hounded for 30–40 years now… we are always to blame, whatever happens,” — Vucic

Thousands of Serbs Attend Ratko Mladic Funeral Amid EU Criticism