The European Union reiterated this Monday that any tribute or glorification of the former Serb-Bosnian commander Ratko Mladic, nicknamed 'the butcher of Bosnia' and convicted in 2017 for war crimes and crimes against humanity, "has no place" among the States aspiring to join the bloc, following the controversy sparked by his military honors funeral in Belgrade.
"Any glorification of war criminals, denial of genocide, and revisionism contradict the most fundamental European values and have no place in the EU or in the candidate countries for the EU," the European External Action Service (EEAS) stated in a statement in reaction to Mladic's funeral, which took place this Monday in the Serbian capital.
In the note, the Union emphasizes that reconciliation and good neighborly relations in the Western Balkans "remain essential for building a shared future," stressing that the EU "is a partner of all countries" in the region to support "their efforts to promote reconciliation and regional stability."
It also highlights the urgency of "finding and implementing definitive and inclusive solutions" to the disputes and regional and bilateral issues of its partners in the Balkans, "rooted in the legacy of the past, in accordance with International Law."
The EU insists that Mladic was a war criminal convicted of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. "He died while serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity and the genocide of Srebrenica. The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2017, describing his crimes as some of the most atrocious known to humanity," it asserted.
Brussels also recalls that the armed conflicts in the Western Balkans in the 1990s constituted "one of the darkest moments in recent European history," and renews its support "with all the victims, survivors, and their families" who suffered war crimes in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.
When asked at a press conference in Brussels whether the European Commission plans to take concrete measures against Serbia, the chief spokesperson for the community executive, Paula Pinho, limited herself to emphasizing that the EU's position "is very clear" and that "we will see" if any type of "decision" is made.
"There is no place for the glorification of war criminals. Nor for those who denied the genocide, or for those who contradict the most fundamental European values," he concluded.
Brussels suspends a commissioner’s visit to Serbia
Last Friday, the European Commissioner for Enlargement, the Slovenian Marta Kos, decided to cancel an upcoming visit to Serbia in response to the decision to hold a state funeral for the former Bosnian Serb commander Ratko Mladic, stating that "the glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU's path is built."
The commissioner communicated that she will not proceed "at this time" with her planned trip to Serbia, after Serbian authorities organized a state funeral for the former commander, who died on August 27 while serving a sentence in a prison in The Hague.