The European Commission has warned that all leaders of Bosnia-Herzegovina must carefully follow the principles of the rule of law if it wants to join the European Union, reports Politico.
On Monday, the 9th of January, the officials of the EU and US condemned the actions of Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik. Dodik awarded Russian President Vladimir Putin with the highest award of the autonomous Republic of Serbia.
The Republic of Serbia is one of the administrative units of Bosnia-Herzegovina, and award for Putin was announced on Sunday, the 8th of January. Dodik, who has long valued ties with Russia more than moving towards the West, thanked Putin with the medal for his reliable support for Republika Srpska.
Peter Stano, the press representative of the EU foreign service, reacted to this news by reminding the Balkan country, which only gained the status of an EU candidate country in December, that all the political leaders of Bosnia and Herzegovina know how important it is for the EU to adhere to the principles of the rule of law. He added that the rule of law is all the more important now that Bosnia is granted the status of an EU candidate country.
The US Embassy in Sarajevo said: «Milorad Dodik’s decision to bestow an award on Vladimir Putin, the man who launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine that has resulted in the death of thousands of civilians and the massive destruction of infrastructure, was reprehensible.
It was a repudiation of the values of the Euro-Atlantic community and the rules-based international order.»
The EU has played an important role in maintaining balance in the Western Balkans since the bloody wars of the 1990s. In December, after several years of discussions, the bloc gave the green light to Bosnia and granted it candidate status.
Ivana Korajlić, the executive director of Transparency International in Bosnia, said that Dodik wants to show himself as a strong leader by emphasizing his closeness to Putin. She added that there have already been several warnings about the impact of Dodik’s actions on integration in the EU, but he is not concerned about it. Dodik has also said that Bosnia does not need to be in the EU.
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