Belgrade — The European Union’s enlargement chief, Marta Kos, has scrapped a scheduled visit to Serbia, citing the country’s decision to honor Ratko Mladic with full military honours following his death.
Kos announced the cancellation on the social media platform X on Friday, stating that the “glorification surrounding his death” is fundamentally incompatible with the core values underpinning the EU accession path.
“In this context, I have decided not to proceed with my planned visit to Serbia at this time,” she wrote.
Mladic, widely known as the “Butcher of Bosnia,” died on August 27 at the age of 84 while serving a life sentence in The Hague. He was convicted in 2017 for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed during the Bosnian War, including responsibility for the 1995 Srebrenica massacre in which more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys were killed.
Despite his conviction, Mladic remains a celebrated figure among segments of the Serbian public and political elite. On Thursday, his body arrived in Belgrade from the Netherlands and was met with a guard of honor. Crowds were observed cheering as his coffin was driven through the capital ahead of his burial.
President Aleksandar Vucic defended the state-sponsored funeral, confirming that the government would provide all logistical support and predicting attendance by tens of thousands. When contacted regarding Kos’s decision, Vucic dismissed her reasoning as “very short but stupid,” according to regional broadcaster N1.
The diplomatic row highlights ongoing tensions in Serbia’s EU accession process, which has been negotiating since 2014 but has stagnated in recent years under Vucic’s leadership. More than 100,000 people died during the Bosnian War, making Mladic one of its most notorious military commanders.
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