EU President to Skip Serbia and Bosnia on Balkan Tour

EU President to Skip Serbia and Bosnia on Balkan Tour The European Commission announced on Friday that President Ursula von der Leyen will miss Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina during her trip to the Western Balkans between September 30 and October 2, citing upcoming elections in the two countries. “In light of the upcoming parliamentary and general elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Serbia, the president intends to visit these countries at a later date,” a Commission spokesperson, Arianna Podesta, said on Friday. During the trip, von der Leyen will visit Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and North Macedonia where she will meet leaders and look at EU-funded projects. After the EU announcement, Serbia’s President hinted that looming elections were not the only reason for the no-show – hinting at her recent criticism of his administration. “Ursula von der Leyen is far too wise and intelligent a woman to have any illusions about, or to be unaware of, public opinion in Serbia. So I’m sure she knows very well… [but] let’s not get into that,” Vucic said. Von der Leyen and other EU officials have condemned Serbia’s government over the glorification of the convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal Ratko Mladic, whose funeral in Belgrade on September 7 was attended by ministers and high officials both from Serbia and Bosnia’s Serb-led entity, Republika Srpska. “I was horrified by the pictures from Ratko Mladic’s funeral in Belgrade last week. He committed the most atrocious crimes against humanity. Glorifying war criminals simply has no place in the European Union,” von der Leyen said on September 16. Serbia is an EU candidate state. A day after Mladic’s funeral, von der Leyen also wrote on X that “the elements of official support and the presence of some senior Serbian officials at the funeral are deeply regrettable”. Earlier in September, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos cancelled her planned visit to Serbia, the day after Mladic’s body was transported on a government plane to Belgrade, where it was met by officials and an army honour guard. Early parliamentary elections will be held in Serbia on October 25. President Vucic called the elections after a year-and-a-half of anti-government protesters demanding snap elections. The elections will be Vucic’s most challenging test since he came to power in 2012. The main rival to his ruling Serbian Progressive Party, SNS, is the Student List, a political list formed by Serbian students who have been protesting since November 2024, following the deadly collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad. Bosnia and Herzegovina will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on October 4.