Von der Leyen and Costa: Glorifying Mladic clashes with Serbia’s path to the EU

Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa have condemned the military-backed funeral of Ratko Mladic, saying the ceremony exposed Serbia’s failure to confront one of the darkest chapters in Europe’s recent history.

“The images of Ratko Mladic’s funeral are a scandal,” the European Commission and European Council presidents wrote jointly on social media. They called the official support and the presence of senior Serbian officials “regrettable,” saying they “contradict the values that underpin Serbia’s path toward the EU.”

Mladic, who died in custody in The Hague at the age of 83, was convicted of genocide for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. He also received a life sentence for crimes against humanity and war crimes linked to the siege of Sarajevo. Von der Leyen and Costa stressed that he died while serving that sentence and described him as a “war criminal.”

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The images of Ratko Mladic’s funeral are a scandal. The official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are regrettable. They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe’s recent history and contradict the values that underpin Serbia’s path toward the EU.

He was buried on Monday after a ceremony at St. Luke’s Church in Belgrade. Members of the Serbian army draped the coffin in the flags of Serbia and Republika Srpska. Public broadcaster RTS reported that President Aleksandar Vucic did not attend, but his son Danilo did. Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic, Justice Minister Nenad Vujic and other government members were also present. Images showed Republika Srpska’s former president Milorad Dodik, Russia’s ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko and former Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos at the funeral.

“Our thoughts are with all the victims of the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia,” the two EU leaders said.

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Our thoughts are with all the victims of the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia.