Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Wednesday that the decision by the United States to extend its national emergency with respect to the Western Balkans is likely related to continued tensions over the Dayton Peace Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as Washington cited persistent threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy.
Speaking in Belgrade, Vučić reacted to the White House’s renewal of the executive order first enacted in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush. The order empowers the U.S. to impose sanctions on individuals and entities deemed to obstruct peace efforts or support extremist violence in the region, particularly in North Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and other parts of the Western Balkans.
“I suppose it’s about the Dayton Agreement,” Vučić told reporters after a student forum in Belgrade titled “Freedom and Sovereignty of Nations in the 21st Century.” “The Western powers have repeatedly violated that agreement, taking away competencies from Republika Srpska in, let’s say, a deceitful manner.”
He added: “The world is in complete chaos, and it is our job to protect our country, to strengthen it militarily, economically, and politically, and to maintain deterrence.”
The renewal of the executive order, signed this week by U.S. President Donald Trump, marks another one-year extension of emergency measures originally introduced 24 years ago. These measures allow the U.S. government to impose asset freezes and visa bans on individuals who obstruct peace processes or threaten U.S. interests in the Balkans.
Blacklisted Figures
Among those affected is Milorad Dodik, the President of Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dodik has been on the U.S. sanctions list since 2017. The list, maintained by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), includes over 150 individuals and organizations allegedly involved in war crimes, terrorist financing, or activities undermining the Dayton peace framework.
The U.S. government considers these individuals to be a continuing threat to regional peace and U.S. foreign policy interests. A July 2023 OFAC report stated that the “threat posed by the actions of persons engaged in, or providing support for, extremist violence in North Macedonia and elsewhere in the Western Balkans, or obstructing implementation of the Dayton Accords and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 on Kosovo, has not been removed.”
President Trump, who also extended the measures in 2017 during his first term in office, reiterated that such threats continue to justify the national emergency status regarding the Western Balkans.
Origins of the Measures
The initial executive order, known as Executive Order 13219, was signed by Bush on June 26, 2001, in response to instability in the post-Yugoslav states. It introduced sweeping sanctions powers to counter those deemed to be undermining peace agreements or engaging in destabilizing violence in Bosnia, Kosovo, and North Macedonia.
The decision followed reports of ongoing human rights abuses, corruption, and violent extremism, as well as non-compliance with the terms of the Dayton Agreement — signed in 1995 to end the Bosnian war — and UN Resolution 1244, which governs the international presence in Kosovo.
Subsequent U.S. administrations, including those of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, have repeatedly renewed the order, citing a failure by local and regional actors to fully implement the peace agreements or respect the sovereignty and integrity of post-conflict states.
Magnitsky Law Enforcement
In addition to the Western Balkans emergency order, Washington has used the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to target individuals accused of corruption or human rights violations. Under this framework, assets of sanctioned persons within the U.S. are frozen, and American entities are barred from conducting transactions with them.
According to the Treasury Department, many of the targets of Magnitsky-related sanctions in the Balkans are senior political officials, business elites, and criminal figures alleged to be involved in undermining democratic institutions or engaging in illicit enrichment.
Broader Sanctions Strategy
The U.S. has sanctioned individuals across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania. While the highest number of designations remain tied to Bosnia and Serbia, Washington has increasingly turned its focus to networks involved in corruption and political destabilization.
The Biden administration had previously warned of the erosion of democratic norms in the Balkans and emphasized the use of financial pressure as a tool to bolster regional stability.
In Belgrade, Vučić remained defiant, insisting Serbia would maintain its independence and pursue military and economic strength without compromising sovereignty.
“We are not a colony,” he said. “We will continue to follow our path and protect our national interests, regardless of international pressure.”