Von der Leyen outraged by former Serb commander’s funeral ceremony

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has expressed outrage over the funeral ceremony for former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic in Serbia.

In a post on X, she said elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable, Caliber.Az reports.

“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,” she wrote.

Von der Leyen described Mladić as a convicted war criminal.

“He was responsible for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity,” she added.

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. He died while serving a life sentence for the Srebrenica genocide and other crimes.…

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) September 8, 2026

Mladić died in a prison in The Hague on August 27 at the age of 84. He had been imprisoned after the Hague Tribunal indicted him in 1996 on charges related to the siege of Sarajevo and the events in Srebrenica. He was arrested and extradited to The Hague in 2011.

Mladić was buried at Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade in September. Around 10,000 people followed the funeral procession to the cemetery.

Politico reported that Serbia’s potential accession to the EU became a subject of discussion following the funeral ceremony for Mladić.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also canceled her trip to Serbia following Mladic’s funeral.

Earlier, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic blamed the UN court for Mladić's death.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov