Von der Leyen and Costa called Ratko Mladić's Belgrade funeral 'shocking,' after senior Serbian officials attended with military honours, clouding Serbia's EU bid for the foreseeable future.
The heads of the EU's two main institutions have condemned the presence of senior Serbian officials at the funeral of the convicted war criminal, in a joint statement published simultaneously on X on Tuesday morning.
"The images from Ratko Mladić's funeral yesterday in Belgrade were shocking. Ratko Mladić was a convicted war criminal. He was responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa wrote on X.
Ratko Mladić, known as the Butcher of Bosnia, died in late August aged 84 in a UN detention facility in The Hague. The Bosnian Serb had served in the Army of Republika Srpska with the rank of colonel-general during the Yugoslav Wars.
Following his death, his body was flown to Belgrade on a state plane, given an honour guard by the Serbian military and various security forces, and commemorated by the public broadcaster and the Serbian Orthodox Church. His coffin was wrapped in a Serbian flag.
