- Germany, Austria impose sanctions on Republika Srpska leaders
These include Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, Radovan Višković, Prime Minister of Republika Srpska, and Nenad Stevandić, Speaker of the Parliament of Republika Srpska.
The sanctions include a travel ban, including on transit through the territory of these two European countries.
At the same time, a decision at the EU level to introduce restrictive measures against the leadership of Republika Srpska is unlikely to be adopted.
The governments of Hungary and Croatia have already stated they will not introduce sanctions against the RS leaders and stressed that there is no unanimous support in the European Union for sanctioning Dodik and his allies.
“This Hungarian government will never agree to sanctions that would affect democratically elected officials of Republika Srpska,” Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó said after a meeting with Serb representative and head of the BiH Presidency Željka Cvijanović in Budapest. According to the top diplomat, Hungary considers this to be political persecution.
“What is being done against Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik is dangerous because it could undermine security in the area. We will never vote for this, and these sanctions will never enter into force at the EU level, because a unanimous decision is needed there,” Szijjártó said.
Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković also believes that “the initiative to adopt sanctions at the EU level will not pass.” “From the perspective of the positions of the member states, this is unrealistic,” the Croatian prime minister said after a meeting with HDZ BiH President Dragan Čović in Mostar.
Plenković explained Croatia’s reluctance to impose sanctions against the leaders of Republika Srpska by its close ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina. “We are the first neighbors” of BiH, he noted. “Banja Luka is literally an hour and 45 minutes from Zagreb, and from this side we’d like to send reassuring messages that will encourage dialogue,” he stressed, adding that imposing sanctions would not be good, as it would increase political tension in BiH, lead to a deterioration in the economic and social situation of BiH citizens, and also further slow down the country’s path toward the EU. As is known, the court of Bosnia and Herzegovina accuses Dodik, Stevandic and Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Radovan Viskovic of posing a threat to the constitutional order in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for which a penalty of up to five years in prison is provided. The arrest warrants have already been issued.
- Discuss about EUFOR play part in Dodik arrest
Members of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denis Becirovic and Zeljko Komsic, have asked the European Union military mission in BiH, EUFOR Althea, to assist the police services in BiH in enforcing the decisions of the judicial authorities.
The arrests concern the President of Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, Speaker of the RS National Assembly Nenad Stevandic, and Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Radovan Viskovic. The Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina charges the three with posing a threat to the constitutional order in BiH, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. Arrest warrants have already been issued for the said officials.
The President of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a representative of the Serbian people, Zeljka Cvijanovic, has opposed the involvement of the EU military mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the detention of Dodik and other RS leaders. In her opinion, this would be an attempt to “manipulate and abuse” the institution of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and EUFOR, which further deepens the current political and constitutional crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the same time, Becirovic described Dodik and his associates as “a group of criminals who do not respect the Constitution of BiH, the laws of BiH, the decisions of the Constitutional Court, international norms and institutions such as the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe.” “The international community, including the EU, the High Representative, NATO and EUFOR, must play their role,” he said at a meeting with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas.
Kallas kicked off her official trip to BiH with a visit to EUFOR units in Sarajevo, where she expressed concern about the actions of the Republika Srpska leadership.
The RS leadership is destroying the constitution and the rule of law, threatening the fundamental freedoms of all citizens, she said.
Kallas said the European Union would not tolerate threats to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of BiH and that any attempts to break up the state were unacceptable. She recalled the recent increase in the size of the EUFOR mission as proof of the EU’s commitment to stability in the region and the security of BiH.
At a meeting with members of the BiH Presidency, she stressed that the EU remains committed to the European future of BiH, as well as to the preservation of its sovereignty and institutional order.
The EUFOR command and EU representatives have not yet announced plans for EU forces to participate in the operation to detain the RS leaders led by Dodik.
Meanwhile, the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, himself stated in an interview with the Russian state-run news agency TASS that the EU has neither the legal nor the moral right to authorize his arrest. According to him, the mandate of the European Union mission in BiH, EUFOR Althea, which was granted to the EU force by the UN Security Council, does not provide for the execution of arrests.
- No consensus in UNSC on extending UN Mission in Kosovo
Russia, China, France, as well as Serbia, are in favor of extending the mandate of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). At the same time, the United States and the UK, together with Kosovo, are demanding that the UNMIK be terminated
US Ambassador to the UN John Kelly has called for the abolition of UNMIK, linking it to plans to reduce unnecessary costs. UNMIK is a peacekeeping mission without peacekeeping forces, which spends 85 percent of its budget on staff salaries, he said, adding that it is time to abolish UNMIK as it no longer plays a leadership role, employs too many people, and eats up too high of a budget.
Acting Secretary of State Kosovo’s Donika Gervalla also called for the termination of the Mission. According to the official, UNMIK no longer performs any function that would justify its presence. Instead, the UN Mission “echoes Serbian propaganda” in its reports.
The Russian Permanent Representative to the UN, Vassiliy Nebenzia, spoke out “categorically against reducing the budgetary and personnel potential of the UN Mission for the Interim Administration in Kosovo”.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Đurić stressed that “Serbia’s position remains clear and consistent: we strongly support the continued presence and full engagement of UNMIK”.
After the declaration of independence of Kosovo and its partial international recognition, the United States and the United Kingdom repeatedly stressed that the Mission had exhausted its original mandate, and called on the Security Council to begin the process of its closure. However, it is impossible to close the UN Mission in Kosovo without the consent of all members of the Security Council, including China and Russia.
- Doctor could become Serbia’s new PM
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has proposed that parliament approve Djuro Macut as the country’s new prime minister.
The decision was preceded by weeks of discussion of potential candidates: the possibility of nominating a diaspora representative and a former minister was mentioned, but in the end the choice boiled down to a doctor.
Djuro Macut is deputy director of the clinic for endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic diseases at the University Clinical Center of Serbia, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Belgrade, Department of Internal Medicine.
According to the law, a new government must be formed by April 18, otherwise Serbia will face early parliamentary elections.
- Serbia cooperates with Parliamentary Assemblies of CSTO and NATO
The Serbian delegation participated in the conference of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) entitled “Current trends in the field of legal support for the functioning of the CSTO collective security system for the period until 2030”, held in St. Petersburg, Russia, on March 27.
Serbia has observer status in the CSTO PA, a military-political bloc led by Russia.
In his speech to the participants in the event, the head of the Serbian parliamentary delegation to the CSTO PA, Milovan Drecun, stressed the importance of Serbia’s cooperation with the CSTO PA, despite the “complex international situation”.
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On April 7, Defense Minister Bratislav Gasic met with a delegation of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Belgrade.
Serbia has the status of an associate member in the NATO PA.
Speaking about cooperation within the Partnership for Peace program, Minister Gasic emphasized that Serbia remains a reliable partner of the Alliance in this format.
During a meeting with NATO lawmakers, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ana Brnabic, noted that “it is useful for Serbia to have the highest possible level of cooperation with NATO,” which is especially relevant given the situation of Kosovo and Metohija. “I think Serbia will maintain its military neutrality with the highest possible degree of cooperation with NATO as a non-member state,” Brnabic concluded.
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Simultaneous cooperation with the Western and Russian military blocs has been Belgrade’s consistent policy in recent years. According to the Serbian leadership, such multi-vectoral approach is in line with the policy of military neutrality.
- European Parliament calls on Western Balkan nations to pursue EU-coordinated foreign policy
The annual report on the implementation of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CSFP), adopted by the European Parliament on April 2, notes that the Western Balkans have a “need for reforms regarding the rule of law, fundamental rights and public administration, and for alignment with the CFSP, including on sanctions and on the EU’s visa policy”.
The document was drafted by the EP rapporteur on the CSFP, David McAllister.
• Albania, as noted in the report approved by the European Parliament, needs to further intensify reforms in the area of the rule of law, the fight against corruption and organized crime, constructive interaction between the majority and opposition, and the promotion of inclusive democratic processes, including national minorities, in particular the Greek one.
• It condemns “recurring inflammatory rhetoric and secessionist laws and policies of the leadership of the entity ‘Republika Srpska’”. The EP reiterates its call for sanctions against those who destabilize Bosnia and Herzegovina, in particular Milorad Dodik, as well as other senior RS officials who provide political and material support to secessionist policies.
• It stresses that EU accession talks with Serbia “should advance only if the country aligns with EU sanctions against Russia and makes significant progress on its EU-related reforms”.
• It stresses that freedom of assembly is a fundamental right of citizens. The European Parliament called for a thorough, impartial, and swift investigation into allegations of violence against protesters and expresses its solidarity with the peaceful demonstrators, especially those who took part in the rally on March 15, 2025, the largest mass protest in Serbia’s modern history.
• The EP asks the European Council to assess Kosovo’s application for EU membership and calls for the immediate lifting of the restrictive measures imposed by the European Council against Kosovo.
• The European Parliament welcomed the progress made by Montenegro and expects the country to start finalizing clusters in the accession negotiations and be ready to join the EU within the next few years.
• The EP demands that North Macedonia make constitutional changes in line with previously reached agreements (this concerns the inclusion of a clause on the Bulgarian minority in the preamble of the country’s constitution).
- Albania could become EU member by 2030 – Kallas
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas visited Albania as part of her first tour across the Western Balkans.
At a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Kallas said Albania could potentially become an EU member by 2030. She called Albania a truly strong partner of the EU and stressed that the country is fully aligning its foreign and security policy with that of the EU.
“Your decision to fully implement EU sanctions against Russia, along with your humanitarian and political support for Ukraine, demonstrates your strong commitment to EU values. I understand that, from a political standpoint, this is not always an easy choice,” Kallas said, addressing Prime Minister Rama.
Asked whether 2030 was a realistic target for Albania’s EU accession, Kallas replied in the affirmative, stressing that it remains achievable if all parties fulfil their commitments.
Prime Minister Rama said that during his meeting with European Commissioner Kallas, the parties discussed the accession process and the “very ambitious timeline” agreed with the European Commission to complete the negotiations by 2027.
Albania has accelerated its European integration path since it started moving towards EU accession separately from North Macedonia. North Macedonia’s European integration, however, has virtually come to a deadlock over the ongoing dispute with Bulgaria.
