EU enlargement chief Marta Kos said Friday that she was scrapping an upcoming visit to Serbia over the "glorification" of war criminal Ratko Mladic after his body was received with military honours.
"Ratko Mladic was convicted of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The return of his remains to Belgrade reminds Europe of the darkest pages in our recent history," Kos wrote online.
"The glorification surrounding his death is incompatible with the values on which the EU path is built."
Kos added that "in this context, I have decided not to proceed with my planned visit to Serbia at this time."
Bosnian Serb Mladic died last week while serving a life sentence for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 1992-1995 Bosnian war.
His casket, draped in the Serbian flag, was on Thursday greeted by soldiers along with his son and the country's justice minister after it was flown to Belgrade.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that the state would provide "every kind of logistical and transport support" and he expected tens of thousands to gather for the funeral.
Kos had already condemned plans by Serbia -- which is a candidate to join the EU -- to bury Mladic with state honours.
European rights organisation the Council of Europe said the "glorification of war criminal Ratko Mladic is unlawful and an affront to victims."
Mladic, who had suffered several strokes in recent months, was convicted of atrocities committed during Bosnia's war, which killed around 100,000 people and forced 2.2 million from their homes.
His role in the killings earned him the nickname the "Butcher of Bosnia", particularly for his role in the Srebrenica massacre, Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.
Mladic was the military face of a brutal leadership alongside former Bosnian Serb political leader Radovan Karadzic and ex-Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic.
