(Saba) -- The Eurropean Union admitted Sunday that the massacre of thousands of Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 11, 1995 was a blot on the face of Europe, according to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

"The horrific crimes committed are a stain on the values, principles and fundamental rights that Europe stands for, and on our shared humanity," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fule said in a joint statement to mark the 15th commemoration of Srebrenica.
"Srebrenica is today a silent memorial to something that should have never happened and must never happen again," noted the statement.

Serbian forces murdered 8,000 Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica after the town was declared a UN safe haven under the protection of Dutch troops.

"Reconciling for the future is a promise that we must pursue for the next generation. It depends on justice being served. Full cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia remains both urgent and essential," said the EU statement.

"This is what the European Union wants for the survivors of Srebrenica - and for all the citizens of the Western Balkans. Justice for the victims pursued through the courts and a better European future for all, ensuring peace and stability and the rule of law," it added.

The Bosnian Serb leader at that time, Radovan Karadzic, is under trial for war crimes at the international tribunal at the Hague, while the Bosnian Serb general accused as the man responsible for the massacre of the Muslims, Ratko Mladic, is yet to be arrested.