On Tuesday, leading European Union officials conveyed their astonishment after Serbia held a funeral for Ratko Mladic, a Bosnian Serb general who passed away while serving a life sentence for war crimes, raising concerns about Serbia’s eligibility for EU membership.
Mladic was laid to rest in Belgrade on Monday with military honours. The Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Porfirije, officiated the service, and Serbian army personnel carried Mladic’s coffin, which was draped in a flag, to the cemetery.
Several ministers from the Serbian government were present at the ceremony for the man infamously known as the “Butcher of Bosnia,” who had been convicted of perpetrating the first genocide in Europe since World War II. Many Serbs continue to view Mladic as a hero.
“The scenes from Ratko Mladic’s funeral yesterday in Belgrade were shocking,” stated European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen along with European Council President Antonio Costa in social media posts.
“The signs of official endorsement and the attendance of several senior Serbian officials at the funeral are profoundly regrettable,” von der Leyen and Costa noted. “They reflect a failure to address a dark period in Europe’s recent past and contradict the values essential for Serbia’s journey towards joining the European Union.”
When asked about potential repercussions for Serbia’s EU application, a spokesperson for von der Leyen replied, “We are looking into it.”
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, left, is shown with European Council President Antonio Costa prior to their meeting at the Serbia Palace in Belgrade on June 4. Costa was among the senior EU officials criticizing Serbian government officials attending Mladic’s funeral. (Darko Vojinovic/The Associated Press)
Although President Aleksandar Vucic did not attend the funeral, his son, Danilo, was present. The Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik and Russia’s ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, were also in attendance.
Serbia’s Justice Minister Nenad Vujic was there, standing alongside Mladic’s family. He stated that the authorities assisted in maintaining order during the funeral to ensure it was conducted in a “dignified” manner, while indicating that the family was in control.
Mladic was convicted by the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for genocide due to his involvement in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, where approximately 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed after Bosnian Serb forces captured the UN-designated enclave.
He was also found guilty for his role in the 43-month siege of Sarajevo, during which around 10,000 individuals lost their lives.
On Tuesday, the UK summoned Serbia’s chargé d’affaires to denounce the participation of Serbian state and military officials at Mladic’s funeral. The British Foreign Office issued a statement asserting that any glorification of the war criminal hampers reconciliation and regional stability in the Western Balkans.
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Vucic, who has a history as an extreme nationalist and previously supported Serbia’s expansionist ambitions during the 1990s wars that fragmented Yugoslavia, referred to the funeral as an “emotional outpouring.”
Vucic finds himself in a delicate political position, attempting to garner support from many admirers of Mladic ahead of an early parliamentary election, while striving not to alienate the EU, which Serbia aims to join.
Last week, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos cautioned that the funeral would serve as “a test” for Belgrade. She cancelled an upcoming trip to Serbia, stating that “the glorification” of Mladic’s death would conflict with EU values.
The EU typically releases its annual enlargement report in late October or early November, detailing the progress of candidate nations, including Serbia, towards membership and identifying areas of concern.
Von der Leyen is set to visit the Western Balkans region shortly before the report’s publication. Although she usually visits each country, specific dates and agendas for the visit have yet to be revealed.
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Ratko Mladic, war criminal and former Bosnian Serb military leader, dead
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Mladic’s funeral is unlikely to bolster Serbia’s standing. The country’s prospects for EU membership have already been compromised due to democratic setbacks. In April, Kos warned Belgrade it might forfeit around 1.5 billion euros ($2.4 billion Cdn) in EU funding due to worries regarding irregularities in municipal elections.
On the positive side for Serbia, Vucic’s nationalist-populist SNS party maintains close connections with the EU’s largest political group, the European People’s Party, which comprises centre-right parties from across Europe. The EPP has faced accusations of shielding Vucic.
“It is high time for the EPP to cease acting as a refuge for the SNS party, which openly glorifies convicted war criminals and welcomes the ‘Butcher of Bosnia,'” stated Slovenian Green MEP Vladimir Prebilic last week.
Von der Leyen is a prominent member of the EPP, as are many members of her team and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola. Particularly, von der Leyen has refrained from publicly criticizing Vucic.
For many years, the EPP staunchly supported Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s strongly nationalist Fidesz party, with the aim of keeping him within Europe’s political fold. However, the EPP eventually suspended Fidesz in 2019 over concerns regarding democracy and the rule of law in Hungary, leading Fidesz to leave the group in 2021.
