Dozens of European Parliament members call for sanctions against Dodik

A group of members of the European Parliament have called on the European Union chief to take immediate steps to impose sanctions on Milorad Dodik, the president of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Serb entity, Republika Srpska.

Through a letter, signed by 28 members of the European Parliament, they are asking the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, to sanction Dodik for his recent actions to separate Republika Srpska from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"Dodik poses a serious threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and thus to the security of the European Union, due to his increasingly pronounced secessionist actions and close ties to the Kremlin," the letter states.

They believe that diplomatic efforts to persuade Dodik to abandon his current policies have failed and that sanctions are necessary to prevent further escalation.

The letter is an initiative of MPs Tineke Strik, Thijs Reuten and Irena Joveva, which has received the support of MPs from ten EU member states and five political groups.

They have said that Dodik's actions are in line with Moscow's interests.

MEPs believe that Dodik has taken steps towards the illegal secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia in recent weeks.

The Bosnian Serb entity took a series of actions recently, after Dodik was sentenced on February 26 by the Bosnian Court to one year in prison and banned from holding the office of president for six years.

Dodik, along with other leaders of Republika Srpska, are also suspected of attacking the constitutional order, a criminal offense under the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which provides for a prison sentence of up to five years and a ban on exercising official duties.

The Bosnian court ordered on March 14 the placement of Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Višković, and National Assembly Speaker Nenad Stevandić in 30-day detention.

The Parliamentary Assembly of Republika Srpska adopted laws on February 27 that prohibit the work of the Court, the Prosecutor's Office, the State Investigation Agency (SIPA), and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the territory of this entity.

Dodik decreed these laws on March 5th.

But, two days later, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared these laws unconstitutional, temporarily suspending them, while it is expected to finally ban them after a full review.

US Secretary of State Rubio said on March 8 that Dodik's actions pose a threat to the security and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and undermine its state institutions.

According to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation are entities that constitute Bosnia and they do not enjoy state powers.

Therefore, sovereignty and territorial integrity are reserved only for the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina and not for its entities.

On March 13, the Parliamentary Assembly of Republika Srpska approved a draft of a new constitution, which aims to define the Bosnian Serb entity as a state.

This constitution is in conflict with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and consequently with the Dayton Agreement.

Since the Dayton Peace Agreement, which was signed in 1995 and ended the war in Bosnia, the country has been made up of the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the ethnic Serb-dominated Republika Srpska, under a weak central government./ REL