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Ratko Mladić, sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, died on 27 August 2026 while serving that sentence in The Hague. His remains were flown to Belgrade on a government aircraft on 3 September, accompanied by Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić, and on 7 September he was buried at Topčider cemetery with military honours. Serving members of the Serbian government attended - Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić, Minister of Justice Nenad Vujić, Minister of Culture Nikola Selaković, Minister for Public Investments Darko Glišić and Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski - alongside officials from Republika Srpska and Danilo Vučić, the president's son. President Aleksandar Vučić did not attend.
The European External Action Service responded on the day of the funeral, stating in a spokesperson statement of 7 September that "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." The following day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa escalated the response in identically worded statements: the images from the funeral were "shocking", and "the elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable." Those elements, they said, "demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe's recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia's path towards the European Union."
The European Parliament's leadership followed. President Roberta Metsola wrote that the public glorification of convicted war criminals "undermines reconciliation" and "is an affront to the victims and their loved ones." Manfred Weber, president of the European People's Party, said he "strongly condemn[s] their presence and the public glorification of Mladić", adding that "honouring a man convicted of genocide is not an act of reconciliation or remembrance - it is a rejection of the responsibility to confront the crimes of the past."
The most concrete consequence came before the burial. On 4 September, after the remains were returned to Belgrade, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos stated that the EU path "requires confronting the past, genuine reconciliation and respecting the victims of war crimes", and announced she would not proceed with her planned visit to Serbia. Speaking to CNN afterwards, she said that "Serbia will have to choose whether it is serious about becoming an EU member or whether Russia and China are more important partners." Reconciliation and cooperation with international justice are formal accession commitments, and this is where they are measured - at a moment when the Commission's July 2026 recommendation to open Cluster 3 still awaits a decision by Member States.
Belgrade has treated the criticism as expected and externally driven. On 8 September, President Vučić said he had anticipated the reaction, describing a "hysterical avalanche of attacks" from Sarajevo, Priština, Zagreb and Podgorica, and said of the two EU presidents: "I have nothing bad to say about these two people." He did not address the substance of the objection - that serving ministers took part in official honours for a man convicted of genocide.
The European External Action Service responded on the day of the funeral, stating in a spokesperson statement of 7 September that "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." The following day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa escalated the response in identically worded statements: the images from the funeral were "shocking", and "the elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable." Those elements, they said, "demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe's recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia's path towards the European Union."
The European Parliament's leadership followed. President Roberta Metsola wrote that the public glorification of convicted war criminals "undermines reconciliation" and "is an affront to the victims and their loved ones." Manfred Weber, president of the European People's Party, said he "strongly condemn[s] their presence and the public glorification of Mladić", adding that "honouring a man convicted of genocide is not an act of reconciliation or remembrance - it is a rejection of the responsibility to confront the crimes of the past."
The most concrete consequence came before the burial. On 4 September, after the remains were returned to Belgrade, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos stated that the EU path "requires confronting the past, genuine reconciliation and respecting the victims of war crimes", and announced she would not proceed with her planned visit to Serbia. Speaking to CNN afterwards, she said that "Serbia will have to choose whether it is serious about becoming an EU member or whether Russia and China are more important partners." Reconciliation and cooperation with international justice are formal accession commitments, and this is where they are measured - at a moment when the Commission's July 2026 recommendation to open Cluster 3 still awaits a decision by Member States.
Reconciliation and cooperation with international justice are formal accession commitments, and this is where they are measured.
Belgrade has treated the criticism as expected and externally driven. On 8 September, President Vučić said he had anticipated the reaction, describing a "hysterical avalanche of attacks" from Sarajevo, Priština, Zagreb and Podgorica, and said of the two EU presidents: "I have nothing bad to say about these two people." He did not address the substance of the objection - that serving ministers took part in official honours for a man convicted of genocide.
