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Plenković: Honoring Mladić at a state funeral would shut Serbia’s EU door
🇷🇸 Serbia /Elections & Politics

Plenković: Honoring Mladić at a state funeral would shut Serbia’s EU door

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković condemned a proposal to give Ratko Mladić full state and military honors at his funeral.
  • Plenković said such an event would amount to Serbia closing the door to European Union membership, while noting that the proposal was not yet a final decision.
  • European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos said glorifying convicted war criminals conflicts with European values and would be considered in assessing developments in Serbia.

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković warned that Serbia could damage its European Union ambitions by organizing a state funeral for Ratko Mladić with the highest state and military honors.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum, Plenković said he understood that the proposal announced by Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujić was not a final decision. He nevertheless condemned the idea and described Mladić as a war criminal.

It is as if they are closing the door to the European Union themselves

— Andrej PlenkovićThe Croatian prime minister condemned the possibility of a state funeral and full honors for Ratko Mladić.

Plenković linked Mladić to crimes in Croatia, saying he had been a commander in Knin and was responsible for the gravest crimes in Škabrnja and other parts of the country. “It is as if they are closing the door to the European Union themselves,” he said.

Glorifying war criminals is contrary to basic European values

— Marta KosThe European commissioner for enlargement said such honors would be unacceptable for EU members and candidate countries.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also addressed the issue at the forum. She said that glorifying war criminals was incompatible with basic European values and had no place either in the EU or in countries seeking membership.

Kos referred to Mladić’s conviction as a war criminal and his life sentence for the genocide in Srebrenica and crimes against humanity. “That will be the basis on which we will judge what happens in Serbia,” she said.

That will be the basis on which we will judge what happens in Serbia

— Marta KosKos referred to Mladić’s conviction and life sentence when describing how the EU would assess developments in Serbia.
About this summary

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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