Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, lamented what they considered to be "shocking" official support for Ratko Mladić's funeral in Serbia. The two European leaders considered that the demonstrations of support for the Bosnian-Serb military commander, convicted of war crimes and genocide, are incompatible with European values.
Mladić was a military commander during the Bosnia war (1992-1995) and was held responsible for the Srebrenica massacre, where more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed, as well as the prolonged siege of Sarajevo.
For Costa and Von der Leyen, these demonstrations also contradict "the values that underpin Serbia's path towards the European Union." Serbia has been a candidate for EU accession for several years, but the process has advanced slowly due to concerns about meeting the accession criteria, including cooperation with the International Criminal Court and regional reconciliation.
