Criticism of the state funeral for Mladić: Anyone who pays homage to war criminals is not welcome in the EU

Should a country like this that organizes state funerals for war criminals be admitted to the EU? When disgust is expressed in Brussels and the doors are slammed on Serbia, the whole thing looks quite serious today, in contrast to the past. Even if the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, twists and turns, it is no longer as easy as simply formulating a diplomatic protest and then moving on to the agenda.

Hoping that grass will grow over the matter and that business interests will once again push aside human rights and democratic norms will probably no longer work in this case. With the strengthening of the AfD in Germany, it dawns on the bureaucrats in Brussels and the members of the European Parliament that it is now not just about the substance of the EU. It's about their existence as the most important pillar of liberal democracy.

Like the USA, China or Russia, Serbia never accepted the war crimes tribunal in The Hague. It is difficult for all powers to have their own crimes judged by a world court. The court has so far been supported by a Western community of values, primarily the EU and states such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and Canada. In the Mladić case in Bosnia, it meticulously collected evidence for years and made a well-founded verdict: life imprisonment for genocide.

The taz is an independent, left-wing and opinionated daily newspaper. We have been arguing in our comments, essays and debate texts since the taz was founded in 1979. We often cannot and do not want to agree on an opinion. That's why you'll find some completely opposing positions here - all part of the very broad left-wing spectrum of opinions.

It has become clear that not only nationalist circles in Serbia are spitting on this verdict, but also the majority of the population. Mladić crystallizes the division in Serbia, but also in Europe, between democratic and authoritarian. The Enlightenment and the French Revolution took place in Western Europe. Russia, Serbia and other Orthodox countries show in the behavior of their elites that Western values ​​do not play an important role for them. And thus they seal themselves off from the EU.