EU blasts Serbia over funeral for ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ Ratko Mladić – POLITICO

DUBLIN — Serbia’s public commemorations for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić risk undermining the country’s relationship with the EU, the bloc has warned ahead of the funeral of the man dubbed the “Butcher of Bosnia,” with the EU’s enlargement commissioner canceling a planned visit to the country.

The former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army during the 1992-1995 Bosnian War died behind bars in The Hague last week, where he was serving a life sentence for crimes against humanity. His coffin was draped in a Serbian flag and flown to Belgrade in a government plane on Thursday, and is due to be buried after a service at the House of the Army on Monday, with thousands expected to attend.

The EU’s enlargement commissioner, Marta Kos, told POLITICO that public support for Mladić was incompatible with Serbia’s application to join the EU.