Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot on Friday condemned the honoring of convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic at his funeral, warning that the act further distances Serbia from the European Union's fundamental values.
"I condemn that act in the strongest terms, and have passed this message to my Serbian counterpart in charge of European affairs this morning," Prevot said on US social media platform X.
He said honoring Mladic, who was convicted of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, was "shameful and disrespectful" to the victims and their families.
Prevot said the act represents "a step distancing Serbia from the EU's fundamental values of respect for human dignity, human rights and the fight against impunity."
He warned that it was "going in the opposite direction of what is expected from an EU candidate country."
European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos also said on X that she had decided to cancel her planned visit to Serbia, citing the glorification of Mladic following his death.
"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," she wrote.
"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 added.
Serbia has been an EU candidate country since 2012 and has been engaged in accession negotiations with the bloc since 2014.
Mladic, known as the "Butcher of Bosnia," was found guilty by the UN tribunal of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, including for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica genocide.
Mladic died on Aug. 27 while serving his sentence in prison in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic offered to organize the burial in Serbia for him.
