The European Union should suspend financial projects that benefit Republika Srpska and consider imposing targeted sanctions on individuals in this entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina “who undermine the sovereignty and constitutional order of the state.” That much is stated, inter alia, in an unofficial document (“non-paper”), informally presented by France and Germany, dated May 12, 2025.
“Non-paper” is an unofficial document, without a signature, without a stamp, and without official delivery channels. It contains a proposal or idea, and it is meant to be discussed informally by political leaders or diplomats. Just over two pages long, it states that the current constitutional crisis “constitutes the most serious challenge to the sovereignty, unity, and territorial and functional integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 30 years.”
The existence of this document was announced by the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army, Milan Mojsilović, on May 22, after a meeting of the National Security Council. He said that the document, which was presented by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, “complicates the position of Republika Srpska.“ According to this non-paper,
“The long-term solution to the crisis will require, in particular, the full and irreversible return of Republika Srpska to the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the restoration of the commitment of Bosnian Serbs to the functioning of state institutions, and the fulfillment of all steps listed in the European Commission recommendation of 12 October 2022.”
The document requires the EU to keep suspended all projects that are, directly or indirectly, beneficial to Republika Srpska. By the way, we should note that they already are suspended.
The European Commission should not propose new projects that are beneficial to Republika Srpska. The criteria for unblocking the measures will be developed after the leadership of Republika Srpska takes the above so-called constructive steps.
Regarding sanctions, it is proposed to use the existing framework for restrictive measures against individuals or entities that, according to the French and German drafters, allegedly undermine the sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The document suggests that member states individually impose travel bans on certain Republika Srpska officials. This includes all three top leaders of the Republika Srpska, including President Dodik, Prime Minister Radovan Višković, and the Speaker of the Parliament, Nenad Stevandić.
In essence, the French-German non-paper represents yet another attempt to impose the will of Paris and Berlin, and of the official Brussels embodied in Christian Schmidt, the illegitimate High Representative. This move also contains an element of perfidious bluff.
The appropriate response to this brutal move by Berlin and Paris should be a categorical refusal by the Serb side – both in Banja Luka and in Belgrade – to submit to a dictate based on the illegitimate decisions of Herr Schmidt, which is the root of all evils in Bosnia.
Interestingly, the document was made public during the visit of the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, to Belgrade. During that visit she also stated that Brussels expects a series of demands to be fulfilled by Serbia, primarily referring to the imposition of sanctions on the Russian Federation.
There is a glimmer of hope, on the other hand, in that this move is not fully backed by official Washington. However, by the time the topic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serb lands comes onto the agenda of the Trump administration, a great deal of time will have passed – and unfortunately, as it happens, the Serbs simply don’t have much time.
Where ist he bluff? In the fact that the Europe of Brussels, effectively led by Germany and France (in that order), is now facing a major headache. At the same time it is expressing irrational readiness to take over the burden of the war in Ukraine, from which the United States is gradually distancing itself, and also trying to impose a blatantly pro-Muslim revision of the radically revised Dayton peace agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
For this reason the French-German move includes an element of bluff. Paris, Berlin, Brussels, or London – amidst the ongoing economic downturn in Germany and the rising financial, industrial, and military burden of supporting the Kiev regime – cannot afford the luxury of imposing an unacceptable fait accompli on the Serbs in Republika Srpska.
President Dodik, for his part, wrote on May 23 on the social network X that this supposedly unofficial document from Germany and France, which proposes drastic additional sanctions against the RS and its leadership, will only deepen the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
“Instead of channeling energy and willpower into realistically assessing the situation, its causes and consequences, and the devastation of an already fragile democratic capacity by international actors, Germany and France have taken a shortcut and used force. Neither has historically yielded results in BiH… This ‘non-paper’ is a deepening of the crisis, a waste of time and money, and yet another adventurous approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina.“
Dodik added that the “non-paper” shows that in the thirty years since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the leading EU countries have learned almost nothing about B-H: “from incorrect assumptions, incorrect conclusions were drawn, and so the measures for ‘overcoming’ the crisis in BiH could only be incorrect as well.” Sadly, this is 100% true…
