The arrest of Mladic, who had been on the run for 16 years, was today welcomed by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Serge Brammertz, who has so far criticised Serbia for the lack of cooperation.
In his report to be presented to the UN Security Council on 6 June, Brammertz has written that Serbia's failure to arrest fugitive war crimes undermined the credibility of its government.
However following the arrest of Mladic, Brammertz said in a statement today that he welcomed his apprehension.
"We await arrangements for his transfer to The Hague where he will stand trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. We recognize the work done by the Serbian authorities, specifically the National Security Council and Serbia's Action Team, in apprehending Ratko Mladic," Brammertz said in the statement released by his office in The Hague.
The European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso described today's apprehension as an important step forward for Europe and for Serbia.
Barroso said on Thursday he had strongly reiterated the EU's firm support for Serbia's prospects of eventually joining the European Union during a visit to Belgrade last week.
"The arrest of Ratko Mladic is therefore a very positive development for the European Union, for Serbia's neighbours, but most of all for the rule of law in Serbia itself," he said in a statement.
Serbia formally applied for EU membership on 22 December 2009. After that it was provided with a questionnaire with 2,483 questions from the European Commission. In the meantime Serbia has sent its answers and is waiting for the Commission's opinion.