Starting Thursday (June 26), the United States is continuing for one year the national emergency order with respect to the Western Balkans, declared in 2001.
The executive order on the continuation of the national emergency with respect to the Western Balkans, signed by US President Donald Trump, was published in the US Federal Register
The document says that the national security and foreign policy of the United States is at risk “by the actions of persons engaged in, or assisting, sponsoring, or supporting extremist violence in the former Republic of Macedonia (what is now the Republic of North Macedonia) and elsewhere in the Western Balkans region, or acts obstructing implementation of the Dayton Accords in Bosnia or United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of June 10, 1999, in Kosovo.”
It adds that “the undermining of post-war agreements and institutions following the breakup of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, as well as widespread corruption within various governments and institutions in the Western Balkans, stymies progress toward effective and democratic governance and full integration into transatlantic institutions, and thereby constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
The executive order on national emergency with respect to the Western Balkans was initially declared on June 26, 2001 during US President George W. Bush’s term.
Former president Joe Biden signed Executive Order 14140 on January 8 before Trump took office on continuing the national emergency with respect to the Western Balkans until June 26, 2025. /MIA
Photo: US Federal Register screenshot