The Austrian Embassy has issued a statement regarding yesterday’s statements by Milorad Dodik regarding bilateral measures.
The actions of Milorad Dodik, President of the Entity of Republika Srpska (RS), pose a threat to the stability, constitutional order and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, they said.
Austria has therefore, in close coordination with other European partners, taken decisive action against the responsible politicians of the Entity of Republika Srpska, the statement stressed.
“We hereby confirm that bilateral measures are in place to prevent the entry into Austria and transit through Austria for President Milorad Dodik, Speaker of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska Nenad Stevandić and Prime Minister of Republika Srpska Radovan Višković.”
The intention is to send a political signal and provide assurance to all pro-European forces that we will continue to actively support them in their efforts to achieve Bosnia and Herzegovina’s membership in the European Union, the Austrian Embassy said.
“This is particularly relevant for the citizens of the Republika Srpska entity, because a few politicians cannot prevent their path to a European future.”
Recall that Germany and Austria have initiated measures to ban entry into those two countries, the German Embassy said in a statement after Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl Risinger and German State Minister for Europe and Climate Anna Luhrmann spoke on April 3 in Sarajevo with the Chairwoman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Borjana Krišto.
The European Union has so far been unable to agree on sanctions against Dodik due to opposition from Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán.
Germany has previously reacted to the anti-constitutional activities of the RS leadership by freezing projects in that Bosnian entity worth a total of around 105 million euros in April 2022, and completely withdrawing in August 2023.
The President of the Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, the Speaker of the Entity Assembly, Nenad Stevandić, and the Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska, Radovan Višković, are under investigation on suspicion that their activities have violated the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
A central arrest warrant has also been issued for them because they are refusing to respond to summonses for questioning in this investigation.
