State honors for Mladić complicate Serbia’s path to the EU, Brussels sends a strong signal

The European Commission has made it clear to Serbia that recent political developments in the country will affect its assessment of whether to continue accession negotiations with the European Union.

Brussels’ position comes after Serbian authorities decided to organize a funeral for Ratko Mladić with the highest state and military honors. The former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska had been sentenced to life in prison for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Guillaume Mercier, the European Commission’s spokesperson for enlargement, said: “As you know, discussions on Cluster 3 are currently under way with the member states. And these discussions must take into account the recent political developments we have seen.”

For years, the European Commission has encouraged progress in talks between the EU and Serbia, proposing the opening of Cluster 3, for which Belgrade is considered to have met the technical conditions. The latest significant effort to advance the issue took place before the summer recess, when the EC asked member states to reach an agreement on opening the cluster and unblocking the negotiating process, which has effectively been frozen for nearly five years.

Since December 2021, Serbia has not opened a single new negotiating chapter. Initially, the deadlock was mainly linked to the lack of alignment between Serbia’s foreign policy and that of the EU, particularly Belgrade’s refusal to join sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Later, concerns over the rule of law and democratic reforms increased the reservations of some member states, while developments following Mladić’s death and burial have further complicated the situation.