BELGRADE – Marta Kos, EU Commissioner for Enlargement, has postponed her visit to Serbia, it has been officially confirmed by her today. The visit was scheduled for the next week and was set to include meetings with government officials, opposition figures, and civil society representatives, media learn.
The postponement has to do with the upcoming burial of the convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić.
“Ratko Mladić was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The return of his remains to Belgrade reminds Europe of the darkest pages in our recent history. The glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built. That path requires confronting the past, genuine reconciliation and respecting the victims of war crimes”, Marta Kos stated in an X post.
According to Kos, “the values that underpin our common future are not negotiable”.
“In this context, I have decided not to proceed with my planned visit to Serbia at this time”, she concluded.
In a reaction to the rhetoric of Marta Kos, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić claimed that her explanation of the postponement of the visit “is stupid”.
“The explanation is extremely short, but stupid, as usual. She mentions the ‘glorification’ of general Ratko Mladić, but she does not say who glorified him. And when they cannot find anything concrete, then they deal with underpasses, overpasses… Should we have forbidden people to show up? Should we have banned his funeral, and create so-called dog cemeteries instead”, he told media today.
Vučić also stated that he would not attend the funeral, but that he “did everything necessary and possible so that the burial would be conducted in a dignified, serious and responsible way”.
The body of Mladić, who had been serving a life sentence in the UN detention unit in the Hague, was flown from Netherlands to Serbia by the Serbian government plane on 3 September. The coffin was accompanied on the flight by Mladić’s son and a granddaughter, as well as by Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujić. It was draped in the flags of Serbia and Republika Srpska and carried off the aircraft by Serbian army soldiers.
According to the media reports, the burial will take place on 7 September, at Topčider Cemetery in Belgrade.
The article has been updated.
