EU condemns Serbia’s ministers for attending funeral of war criminal Mladic

By AFP and AP. Published On 8 Sep 20268 Sep 2026.

Key points

• While serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1990s Bosnian War, mladic died in The Hague last month, aged 84.
• Serbia's Justice Minister Nenad Vujic had initially confirmed "military and state honours" for Mladic, drawing international protest and leading President Aleksandar Vucic to downgrade the event.
• Von der Leyen's condemnation additionally drew questions from critics who have accused her of turning a blind eye to Israel's genocide in Gaza.
• Russia's ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, was additionally there.
• "The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable, " they remarked on X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa have condemned the presence of a number of senior Serbian office-holders at the funeral of war criminal Ratko Mladic.

For context, the EU leaders remarked on Tuesday in identical statements published on X that images of the previous day's commemoration in Serbia – a candidate for EU membership – were "shocking".

"The elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable, " they remarked on X. "They 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."

"Our thoughts are with all the victims of the crimes committed in the countries of former Yugoslavia, " they continued.

In attendance were Serbia's defence and justice ministers, the head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and authorities from the Bosnian Serb separatist entity, Republika Srpska, including President Sinisa Karan. Russia's ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, was additionally there.

Vucic himself did not attend the event. Nevertheless, he described it as an "emotional outpouring", and his son was present.

While serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1990s Bosnian War, mladic died in The Hague last month, aged 84. He remains a hero to plenty of Serbs.

When forces under his command captured a Bosniak enclave and systematically killed more than 8, 000 men and boys, an atrocity that has been ruled a genocide by a United Nations court, his legacy is linked to the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.

Bosnia downgraded diplomatic relations and recalled most of its embassy staff from Belgrade in response to the funeral. A barrier for accession.

In practice, the rebuke sharpens a standoff between Brussels and Belgrade, weeks before the bloc publishes its annual assessment of EU membership applicant countries.

Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos, charged with relations with candidate countries, had already cancelled a trip to Belgrade last week, saying the glorification of Mladic's death would be incompatible with the blocs values and that the funeral would be "a test".

Serbia's membership prospects were already strained for other reasons. In April, Kos cautioned Belgrade it could lose access to concerning 1.5 billion euros ($1.8bn) in EU funds over irregularities in municipal elections.

Brussels has not yet confirmed how the incident will impact Serbia's accession bid. Asked regarding feasible consequences, von der Leyen's spokesperson noted the bloc was still "looking into it".

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is wanted in The Hague for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians, the EU has refused to cut off trade and diplomatic relations with the country.

In a post on X, Bruno Macaes, former Portuguese secretary of state for European affairs, called the condemnations "embarrassing" given that "the list of crimes being condemned corresponds exactly to the list of crimes that were excused or supported by these same governments over the last three years" in Gaza.

For now, EU condemns Serbia's ministers for attending funeral of war criminal Mladic remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.