The European Parliament urges the imposition of sanctions on the Serbian leader Dodik

The European Parliament has called for sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik because of his destabilizing role in the country.

“The European Parliament reiterates its call for the adoption of targeted sanctions against destabilizing actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including those who threaten its sovereignty and territorial integrity, especially Milorad Dodik,” said a resolution passed by the European Parliament.

The resolution was adopted by 407 votes in favour, 92 against, with 142 abstentions.

It also expressed concern about the timing, content and method of changes to Bosnia’s electoral law and constitution, initiated by the High Representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina on election day.

After nearly three decades of war that devastated the Balkan nation, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still burdened by ethnic divisions.

The Balkan country was governed by a dysfunctional administrative system created by the 1995 Dayton Agreement that succeeded in ending conflict in the 1990s but largely failed to provide a framework for the country’s political development.

Bosnia and Herzegovina remains divided between a Serb entity and a Croatian Muslim federation connected to a weak central government.

In the aftermath of the war, ethnic political parties have long exploited the country’s divisions in an effort to maintain power.

For years, Dodik had been stoking tensions with his repeated calls for Bosnia-Herzegovina’s Serbs to separate further from the country’s central institutions, leading to new sanctions being imposed on him from the United States in January.

Dodik is seeking his third term as President of Republika Srpska, after completing a stint in the tripartite presidency.