While Ratko Mladić’s funeral in Belgrade on Monday 7 September was not, on paper, a state ceremony, it had all the attributes of one. In attendance were the Serbian Culture, Defence, and Justice ministers, army representatives, members of the government of Republika Srpska, as well as the president’s son, Aleksandar Vučić.
The presence of such officials prompted the EU to react once again, on Monday 7 September. “Any glorification of war criminals, genocide denial and revisionism contradict the most fundamental European values and have no place in the EU or in EU candidate countries”, stated the European External Action Service (EEAS). Ratko Mladić, former military leader of the Bosnian Serbs, was sentenced to life imprisonment for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
On Friday, tensions were already high after the Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, announced the cancellation of a planned visit to Belgrade (see EUROPE 13931/23). President Vučić hit back, describing the Commissioner’s explanation as “stupid, as usual”.
For the EU, this incident constitutes a new test of Serbia’s alignment with ‘European values’ as a candidate country. On the potential impact this incident could have on President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen’s trip to the Western Balkans at the end of the month, a Commission spokeswoman said the programme was still being drawn up, without specifying if Serbia was initially one of the countries set to be visited. (Original version in French by Louis Dubar)