EU and US strategic messages for BiH: Support for Schmidt, resistance to Russia and China, sanctions

US President Joe Biden yesterday in a conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed strong support for the continuation of the accession process of the Western Balkan countries.

It is also a strong message for Bosnia and Herzegovina ahead of the summit of EU and Balkan leaders on the future of EU membership.

This is just one of the obviously harmonized messages sent by the USA and the EU. This is evident from the meeting of members of the European People's Party (EPP), but also the speech of the future US Ambassador to BiH Michael Murphy.

Support to BiH and the High Representative

The day before the summit, the EPP Declaration was adopted, emphasizing that the sovereignty and integrity of each country in the Western Balkans must be fully respected. On the other hand, the future American ambassador to BiH emphasizes the most important priority - the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and territorial integrity.

In addition, European and US partners reiterated their support for High Representative Christian Schmidt.

- We call on all domestic authorities and political representatives to work closely with the European Union, the international community and the Office of the High Representative, reads the EPP Declaration supported by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, making clear what he thinks about the boycott of Schmidt by political representatives from RS.

The future US ambassador also sent a message to the Senate about the need to support the work of the Office of the High Representative and the implementation of the "5 + 2" agenda.

Loud about sanctions

Murphy also answered the question of sanctions before the Senate.

- I support the use of the new sanctions announced by President Joe Biden. They imply that ethnonationalists who are unwilling to implement reforms will pay a 'high price' for the damage they do to the interests of America and the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Murphy said.

The message about possible sanctions was recently delivered directly to Milorad Dodik by the US Special Representative for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar. On that occasion, he conveyed to Dodik that the threats of secession and the return of reforms to state-level institutions are anti-Dayton and that they offer the citizens of RS nothing but isolation and economic despair.

Unofficially, in Ljubljana, European officials also spoke on the sidelines of the summit about the destructiveness of Dodik's policy and the blockades he had produced in state institutions. Officially, a group of MEPs sent a request to European Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi to impose financial sanctions on the RS entity.

Representatives of the Social Democrats, the Greens and Liberals, who make up almost half of the MEPs, note with concern the threats of RS BiH Presidency member Milorad Dodik to secede, form the RS army, strengthen the RS police with military equipment and abolish state-level institutions. a short-term threat to the democracy and peace of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The signatories point out that the European Commission should initiate sanctions against the RS entity and Bosnian Serb political representatives, and deny money from IPA funds as long as the boycott lasts.

Malignant influence of China and Russia

Finally, the future US Ambassador to BiH Michael Murphy stated as one of the priorities in the work "the suppression of the influence of internal and external actors, especially Russia and China, which are a threat to American interests and undermine the future of BiH."

- Russia, on the other hand, has a different vision of BiH than the United States. It represents a vision of a failed state with tensions that do not abate. We must fight this malignant influence. China has a different approach again, it sees its opportunity in the corruption that is ubiquitous in the country. We need to see our opportunity in the fight against that corruption, Murphy told the Senate in Washington.

In Ljubljana, the EPP states that stronger regional resistance to third actors is needed, whose interests and actions are often opposed to EU values and EU integration policy.

- The EU needs a clear positioning in relation to competitors such as China, Russia, Turkey and others; a more coordinated approach with the United States will be of great help - it is stated in the Declaration.