Bosnia’s Serb lawmakers halt EU accession efforts

Sarajevo: Lawmakers in Bosnia’s Serb Republic regional parliament ordered Serb representatives in state institutions on Wednesday to block decision-making and law changes needed for the Balkan country’s integration into the European Union.

The regional parliament announced the action in an emergency session called to discuss the response to the trial of the region’s leader, Milorad Dodik, a Serb separatist being prosecuted in Bosnia’s state court for defying decisions of international peace envoy Christian Schmidt.

Under the Dayton Treaty that ended ethnic war in the 1990s, Bosnia was split into two autonomous regions – the Serb Republic and a Federation dominated by Croats and Bosniaks.

The regions are linked via a weak central government under supervision of an international high representative, an office held by Schmidt since 2021.

The Serb Republic lawmakers said Dodik’s trial was political and based on illegal decisions by Schmidt. They said the court and prosecution were unconstitutional because they were set up by the peace envoy and not by the Dayton Treaty.

The EU delegation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, along with embassies of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy, condemned the Serb parliament’s acts as “a serious threat to the country’s constitutional order”.

“At a time when formal opening of EU accession negotiations has never been so close, a return to political blockades would have negative consequences for all citizens … a majority of whom support EU accession,” the statement said.

Schmidt said that “attempts to politicize a court case” in order to undermine Bosnia’s constitutional order were deeply troubling, and that he would not hesitate to take measures to ensure the implementation of the peace deal.

“All in Bosnia … must understand that no individual stands above the law,” Schmidt said in a statement. “Everyone, regardless of their name or position, has the right to a fair trial but also the obligation to comply with court decisions.”

Pro-Russian Dodik has tried hard to separate his Serb-dominated region from Bosnia in recent years but halted the process after the start of the war in Ukraine.

After years of political obstruction to joining the EU, Bosnia received a boost last year when EU leaders agreed to open negotiations once Bosnia had reached the necessary compliance with membership criteria.