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Sanctions against Dodik, an (impossible) EU mission!

2023-07-21 08:40:57Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Sanctions against Dodik, an (impossible) EU mission!

The envoy of the United States for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, addressed the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the American Congress at the beginning of this week, where he was asked why the European Union does not impose sanctions against the secessionist policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Escobar's answer was short: the consensus of all member states is needed.

Not all EU member countries think alike when it comes to the actions of the Serbian leader of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik, which undermine the functionality of this state.

Hungary openly supports the president of the Republika Srpska and, therefore, refuses to agree to the sanctions, while the decision on them must be taken unanimously by the 27 EU member states.

For EU foreign policy expert at the Center for European Policy Studies Toby Vogel, Hungary is not the only problem. He believes that there are several other member states that oppose the sanctions, but are hiding behind Hungary's open resistance.

"Dodik has the strong support of [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orban, but there are indications that other EU member states – Croatia and Austria, and perhaps Greece and others – are also against EU sanctions," Vogel told Radio Free Europe.

Dodik is under the sanctions of the United States of America and Great Britain, but not of the European Union.

The EU spokesman, Peter Stano, estimates that "other people's sanctions are usually not a guide for the EU, because the EU sanctions regime is autonomous", which means that European sanctions are based on the EU's legal framework, while for sanctions decisions it is necessary to meet a number of criteria that reflect the legislation, including consensus.

Unanimity as an obstacle
"The fact that a person or entity is not [yet] sanctioned by the EU, means that the member states have not yet seen the need to start discussing this issue, or have not managed to collect sufficient legal evidence for inclusion in the list, or have not managed to have the necessary consensus", says Stano for Radio Free Europe.

However, Vogel says there are other steps the EU can take that no member state can block. According to him, the most important step would be the significant strengthening of the EU force in Bosnia, EUFOR, and the deployment of EUFOR troops in the district of Bërcko - which, according to him, would cut Republika Srpska in half.

"This would be a much stronger sign than the mostly symbolic sanctions, that the EU would oppose any de facto secession of Republika Srpska," says Vogel.

What has the EU done so far to punish Dodik?
In 2011, the EU created the so-called sanctions framework for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which allows it to introduce restrictive measures against persons who seriously threaten the security situation in Bosnia and undermine the Dayton Peace Agreement.

In practice, it is an empty list, to which the names of individuals can be easily added. The EU spokesman, Stano, says that in the EU Council it is up to the member states to decide when they will start talking about specific lists.

The list remains empty.
In 2022, the European Commission has also suspended the financing of two infrastructure projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, worth 600 million euros.

"Other and similar measures may follow if there is a further deterioration of the situation regarding the violation of the territorial integrity, unity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the work of its institutions," says Stano.

The EP is constantly calling for the imposition of sanctions – so far in vain
the European Parliament has sought the imposition of sanctions against Dodik in several cases.

At the beginning of July, a letter was sent to the authorities in the European institutions. The letter was also signed by the chairman of the Foreign Policy Committee.

So far, the European Commission has not responded to these requests.

Legally and procedurally, the EU is not obliged to comply with these types of European Parliament requests.

When there is political will, there are ways
Vogel believes there are ways to avoid making a decision in the formal sense.

"The high representative of the EU, Josep Borrell, can propose such measures, which would force the member countries to show openly whose side they are on. "Unfortunately, the EU is so fixated on consensual decision-making that such a bold direction is unlikely," says Vogel.

The case of measures against the Government of Kosovo is the best example that when there is political will, there are also ways to impose punitive measures.

In mid-June, the EU drafted a package of measures against the members of the Government of Kosovo for non-fulfillment of international requirements, for the extension of the situation in the north of the country.

The package of proposed measures has been forwarded to member states, which are not obliged to implement them, but are certainly expected to do so – which they have done.

All bilateral meetings with representatives of the Government of Kosovo have been suspended, financing projects have been frozen and meetings within the framework of the Stabilization-Association Agreement have also been suspended.

The EU has bypassed the regular procedures that are necessary to impose sanctions and punitive measures are being implemented.

In the formal and procedural sense, the measures against Kosovo are not considered classic sanctions, even though, practically, they are.

The head of the EU's foreign policy, Josep Borrell, said on July 19 that the EU has recently demonstrated that unconstructive behavior in the region "leads to decisive actions from the European side".

So far, this determination has not been shown in relation to Republika Srpska and its president./ rel


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