EUFOR monitoring the situation in Bosnia, no security threats so far

EUFOR

The European force in charge of preserving peace in Bosnia (EUFOR)is carefully monitoring the situation in the country and recent events have not threatened peace and stability in the region, EUFOR told N1 on Monday, responding to announcements from Bosnia's Serb-majority part that they would block the state-level decision-making process.

The EUFOR will continue to monitor the situation in the country in line with its mandate, which implies supporting the safe and stable environment in Bosnia. So far, the political events in the country have had no security or stability effects,” the EUFOR told N1.

On Wednesday, the authorities of the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska (RS) entity announced they would not take part in the decision-making process at the state level. The reason for this was the Court's decision regarding the appeal of several Bosniak MPs in the RS who appealed against the RS Law on Agricultural Land and the RS Law on Inland Navigation, stating that the RS is usurping state competencies and taking the land which belongs to the state.

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The Court ruled in favour of the Bosniak MPs’ motion, declaring several articles from those laws unconstitutional.

Following the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia, the country was subdivided into two semi-autonomous entities – the Bosniak-Croat shared Federation and the Serb-dominated Republika Srpska. Each entity has its own competencies and parliaments and each entity makes its own laws which must be in line with the state Constitution.

“Resolution 2496 (2019) of the UN Security Council, adopted on November 5, 2019, extended the executive mandate of EUFOR for the next 12 months. The resolution also affirms that any amendment to the Constitution must be made in accordance with the procedure for amending the Constitution set out in the text of the Constitution,” EUFOR noted.

They concluded that they have the exclusive responsibility to provide support to Bosnia's state authorities in maintaining a safe and stable environment.