The current constitutional crisis is the most serious challenge to the sovereignty, unity, and territorial and functional integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 30 years, states a new “non-paper”, drafted by France and Germany. According to Radio Free Europe, the document, just over two pages long, calls on the EU to suspend financial projects that benefit Republika Srpska and to consider imposing targeted sanctions on individuals in this entity of BiH.
The media in BiH reported that the non-paper, dated 12 May 2025, is the updated version of the paper tabled 3 November 2023, and that it was written in the light of the conclusions of the Political and Security Committee, reached on 26 March 2025, which paved the way for the further active engagement of EU member states regarding the ongoing constitutional crisis in BiH.
In Serbia, the existence of the non-paper was confirmed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, Milan Mojsilović, who said on 22 May, after a meeting of the National Security Council, that it had been presented by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić.
The document states that RS has undertaken several actions and legal processes that undermine the constitutional order of BIH, particularly after the President of the entity, Milorad Dodik, was sentenced by the Court of BiH on 26 February to one year in prison and six years of political disqualification for failing to comply with decisions of the High Representative.
These actions include the adoption of a series of controversial laws by the National Assembly of RS, including a draft of a new constitution of the entity, as well as the Law on non-application of laws and prohibition of activities of “non-constitutional institutions of BiH”, which stipulated that laws on the Court and Prosecutor’s Office of BiH, State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), and the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Office of BiH (HJCP) would not be applied or executed on the territory of RS.
Proposals for sanctions, attacks from RS and Serbia
According to the media reports, the immediate purpose of the French-German non-paper is “the repeal of unconstitutional laws and the withdrawal of the new constitutional draft”. To this end, the following measures are proposed: limiting financial support for Republika Srpska, imposing targeted sanctions, slowing down the EU accession process of BiH, and severing contacts with officials of this entity.
It is stressed that the EU should suspend all projects that are, directly or indirectly, beneficial to RS within the Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF). In addition, it is suggested that the European Commission should not propose new projects that are beneficial to Republika Srpska.
According to the document, the criteria for lifting the measures will be developed after the leadership of RS takes constructive steps.
Concerning the sanctions, it is suggested to apply the existing framework for restrictive measures against individuals or entities that undermine the sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of BiH. Since there is no consensus in the EU on this issue, the document calls on the individual member states to impose travel bans on certain RS officials.
“National measures are temporary and reversible, with the aim of changing the behaviour of targeted individuals and entities,” the non-paper stresses.
Reacting to the non-paper, Milorad Dodik stated it meant “deepening of the crisis, wasting time and money, and another adventurous approach to BiH”. In his opinion, “the document, released into diplomatic traffic by Germany and France, shows that in 30 years since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the leading EU states have learned almost nothing about BiH”.
Similarly, some pro-government tabloids in Serbia viewed the document as “anti-Serbian”.
On the other hand, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić did not publicly comment on it, but met Dodik on 26 May in Belgrade. After the meeting, Vučić stated on Instagram that Serbia “will always stand by Republika Srpska”.
Franz-Lothar Altmann: Paris and Berlin react robustly to Dodik’s secessionist agenda
Commenting on the measures proposed by France and Germany, Franz-Lothar Altmann, an independent German academic and professor of international relations at the University of Bucharest, states for the European Western Balkans that “it should be realized that Mr. Dodik is the one who has started to raise tensions in the region when he is obstructing the principal rules of the Dayton Agreement by questioning the constitutional setup of Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
“He has been playing the secessionist card again and again, even threatening to act with RS police against the High Representative should he enter RS, which is HR´s constitutional right”, Franz-Lothar Altmann remarks.
Altmann claims that Dodik “definitely is obstructing the path of all BiH towards membership in the EU and NATO, and he is leaning on Moscow”.
“Questioning and actively obstructing the Dayton Agreement through secession must be seen by BiH´s neighbours as a dangerous move that very easily can prompt new civil war-type clashes with consequences for the wider region. That is why Paris and Berlin now reacted so robustly”, he stresses.
Altmann adds that Belgrade is in a difficult position between supporting Dodik as a co-national, on the basis of “Serbian World”, and remaining committed to the Dayton Agreement, which was set up to safeguard peace in the Western Balkans.
“Thus, Belgrade must be very cautious and should refrain from motivating Dodik further by reflecting or even promoting a unification with Serbia proper. Such a move towards ‘a greater Serbia’ would irritate the neighbours and close the door to the EU. Furthermore, a nationalistic clearly Russia-oriented politician like Dodik could become a dangerous competitor to Mr. Vučić in the internal political landscape in Serbia”, Altmann concludes.