Croatian European Parliament member Stephen Nikola Bartulica has called for stronger EU measures against Serbia, including what he described as isolation, and said that Belgrade should acknowledge responsibility for the wars of the 1990s and agree to pay war reparations to Croatian victims before further progress toward EU membership.
Bartulica made the remarks in Strasbourg in an episode of the Croatia First podcast, following a European Parliament debate over the funeral of former Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladić, who was convicted of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity and died earlier this month while serving a life sentence.
“The European Commission needs to take much more concrete steps toward Serbia. That country deserves isolation, and Croatia must insist, as a precondition for any negotiations on future membership, that Serbia finally acknowledge its responsibility for the wars of the 1990s and agree to pay war reparations to all Croatian victims,” Bartulica said.
His position goes beyond the EU’s currently stated policy. While EU officials have condemned the glorification of Mladić and stressed the importance of Serbia confronting its wartime past, the European Commission has not announced sanctions or an isolation policy against Serbia in response to the funeral.
Bartulica also criticized French President Emmanuel Macron for meeting Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić shortly after Mladić’s funeral, arguing that European leaders should take a tougher position toward Belgrade.
He further criticized what he described as the continued failure of Serbia to confront its role in the conflicts of the 1990s and also criticized the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Bartulica has previously raised similar demands in the European Parliament. In an official parliamentary record, he argued that Serbia’s European path should involve recognition of responsibility for the 1990s wars and compensation for victims of the war in Croatia.
The issue of compensation has also appeared in European Parliament discussions on Serbia. A 2025 parliamentary amendment co-sponsored by Bartulica called for Serbia and Croatia to reach an agreement on compensation for destroyed and damaged property during the war.
The Croatian MEP’s latest comments come amid renewed debate in Brussels over Serbia’s EU accession process following Mladić’s funeral in Belgrade. Several European lawmakers have criticized the public glorification of the convicted war criminal, while EU officials have stressed that genocide denial and the glorification of convicted war criminals are incompatible with European values.
Bartulica’s comments have also drawn a political response in Serbia. Serbian Progressive Party official Ana Brnabić has accused Bartulica and European Parliament rapporteur for Serbia Tonino Picula of intervening in Serbia’s domestic political debate and supporting the student-backed opposition list.
Bartulica’s call for sanctions, isolation and war reparations therefore represents his stated political position; it should not be interpreted as an announced EU decision or an established condition formally adopted by the European Union.
