Senior EU official cancels Serbia trip over planned tribute to Mladic

EU enlargement main condemns Ratko Mladic ‘glorification’ arsenic incompatible with European values.

The European Union’s enlargement main Marta Kos has cancelled her upcoming sojourn to Serbia implicit what she called the “glorification” of convicted warfare transgression Ratko Mladic pursuing his death.

Kos took to X connected Friday to condemn the “glorification surrounding his death”, saying it “is incompatible with the values connected which the EU way is built”.

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Mladic’s assemblage was flown from The Hague to Belgrade, wherever it was received with a defender of honour connected Thursday, days earlier his scheduled burial.

“In this context, I person decided not to proceed with my planned sojourn to Serbia astatine this time,” Kos added.

Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, Mladic died astatine the property of 84 connected August 27 portion serving a beingness condemnation successful The Hague for genocide, crimes against humanity and warfare crimes committed during the Bosnian War.

Despite a UN tribunal condemnation successful 2017, Mladic is considered a leader by sections of the Serbian nationalist and governmental establishment. Supporters were seen cheering arsenic his assemblage was driven done Belgrade connected Thursday.

Regional N1 tv quoted Serbian populist President Aleksandar Vucic arsenic saying that Kos’s mentation was “very abbreviated but stupid”.

According to the Serbian government, Mladic volition beryllium buried with authorities and subject honours.

A pistillate walks by a mural that shows erstwhile Bosnian Serb wartime wide Ratko Mladic successful Belgrade connected September 2, 2026 [Darko Vojinovic/AP]

Vucic besides said that the authorities would supply “every benignant of logistical and transport support” and that helium expected tens of thousands to be the funeral.

Serbia has been negotiating EU accession since 2014, but the process has stalled successful caller years nether Vucic.

Mladic was 1 of the most notorious subject commanders of the Bosnian War, which near much than 100,000 radical dead. His bequest is intimately linked to the Srebrenica genocide, successful which his forces killed much than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys successful July 1995.