Senior EU official cancels Serbia trip over planned tribute to Mladic

EU’s Marta Kos cancels Serbia visit, condemning Ratko Mladic ‘glorification’ as incompatible with European values.

The European Union’s enlargement chief Marta Kos has cancelled her upcoming visit to Serbia over what she called the “glorification” of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladic following his death.

Kos took to X on Friday to condemn the “glorification surrounding his death”, saying it “is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built”.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Mladic’s body arrives to full military honours in Serbia
• list 2 of 4Mladic died a happy man
• list 3 of 4Butcher of Bosnia Ratko Mladic still hailed as a hero by some Serbs
• list 4 of 4Serbia welcomes return of war criminal Mladic’s body with military honours

Mladic’s body was flown from The Hague to Belgrade, where it was received with a guard of honour on Thursday, days before his scheduled burial.

“In this context, I have decided not to proceed with my planned visit to Serbia at this time,” Kos added.

Known as the “Butcher of Bosnia”, Mladic died at the age of 84 on August 27 while serving a life sentence in The Hague for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during the Bosnian War.

Despite a UN court conviction in 2017, Mladic is considered a hero by sections of the Serbian public and political establishment. Supporters were seen cheering as his body was driven through Belgrade on Thursday.

Regional N1 television quoted Serbian populist President Aleksandar Vucic as saying that Kos’s explanation was “very short but stupid”.

According to the Serbian government, Mladic will be buried with state and military honours.

A woman walks by a mural that shows former Bosnian Serb wartime general Ratko Mladic in Belgrade on September 2, 2026 [Darko Vojinovic/AP]

Vucic also said that the government would provide “every kind of logistical and transport support” and that he expected tens of thousands to attend the funeral.

Serbia has been negotiating EU accession since 2014, but the process has stalled in recent years under Vucic.

Mladic was one of the most notorious military commanders of the Bosnian War, which left more than 100,000 people dead. His legacy is closely linked to the Srebrenica genocide, in which his forces killed more than 8,000 Bosniak Muslim men and boys in July 1995.