1 - 8 September 2026 | Weekly Regional Briefing

This week's briefing leads with the funeral of Ratko Mladić in Belgrade, held with military and state honours on 7 September and buried at Topčider cemetery, which drew condemnation from Brussels and capitals across the region and reopened deep divisions over the legacy of the Bosnian war. We also cover the approaching verdict in the Kosovo Specialist Chambers' case against Hashim Thaçi and three co-defendants, and the latest from North Macedonia's corruption trial against former First Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi.

Serbia: Mladić Buried With Military Honours in Belgrade, Igniting Continent-Wide Condemnation

Ratko Mladić, convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Srebrenica massacre and the siege of Sarajevo, was given a funeral with military honours in Belgrade on 7 September, led by Serbian Patriarch Porfirije and attended by thousands of supporters, reportedly one of the largest public funerals in Serbia since the fall of communism. President Aleksandar Vučić did not attend, citing an official visit to Uzbekistan, but defended the family's right to organise the ceremony; Interior Minister Ivica Dačić dismissed regional criticism as "double standards."

The reaction from Brussels was swift and pointed. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote that "the images from Ratko Mladić's funeral yesterday in Belgrade were shocking," adding that "the elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable. They demonstrate a failure to confront a dark chapter in Europe's recent history and contradict the values underpinning Serbia's path towards the European Union." European Council President António Costa echoed her comments, and Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos cancelled a planned official visit to Belgrade, saying the glorification on display was "incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built." An EU spokesperson added that "any glorification of war criminals, genocide denial and revisionism contradict the most fundamental European values and have no place in the EU or in EU candidate countries."

Reactions split sharply along regional lines. Bosnia's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konaković announced the withdrawal of most of the country's diplomatic staff from Belgrade, while Denis Bećirović, the Bosniak chair of Bosnia's tripartite presidency, condemned the ceremony as "institutional glorification" of a war criminal and an insult to Srebrenica's victims; the Mothers of Srebrenica association called it a bid to become "the biggest fascist gathering in Europe in the last 70 years." In Republika Srpska, by contrast, President Siniša Karan and former president Milorad Dodik attended the ceremonies, and billboards honouring Mladić went up in several towns. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković criticised both Serbia's handling of the funeral and what he called the EU's insufficiently forceful response, warning it would set back Serbia's EU path. Montenegro's President Jakov Milatović stressed that Mladić's conviction was "a fact established by an international court, not a matter of political opinion," while the pro-Serb speaker of Montenegro's parliament, Andrija Mandić, sent condolences to the Mladić family. Kosovo's acting Foreign Minister Glauk Konjufca called the funeral "an act of profound moral and political disgrace," writing that it reflected "a deeper political continuity" in Belgrade. Turkey's foreign ministry called the glorification on display "unacceptable" and a form of genocide denial, while paying tribute to "the victims of the Srebrenica genocide."

Source: Balkan Insight

Kosovo: One Week to Go Before Hague Court's Verdict on Thaçi and KLA Co-Defendants

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers is due to deliver its trial judgment on 16 September against former President Hashim Thaçi and co-defendants Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi, who face charges including murder, torture and illegal detention as senior KLA wartime leaders. Prosecutors have sought 45 years' imprisonment for each defendant; all four have pleaded not guilty, and Thaçi has said publicly he expects acquittal.

Source: Balkan Insight

North Macedonia: Trial Continues Against Ex-Deputy PM Grubi Over €8.2m Lottery Scandal

The corruption trial of former First Deputy Prime Minister Artan Grubi and seven co-defendants, which opened in Skopje in late August, continues over allegations that the group abused their positions to push through a purchase of video lottery terminals that could never be lawfully operated, at a cost of more than €8.2 million to the State Lottery. The case remains one of the country's highest-profile tests of prosecutorial independence from political interference.

Source: Balkan Insight