Austrian Greens call on EU to impose sanctions on BiH like the US

The Austrian Green Party called for "consistent action to protect the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina" and for sanctions to be imposed due to threats to the country's integrity, as the United States recently did.

"Serbian nationalists are clearly working to break up Bosnia and Herzegovina. Exactly such plans for the division of the country were the cause of the bloody war 30 years ago. If Europe now turns a blind eye to this dangerous development happening on our doorstep, we risk a rude awakening," warns the Greens' spokesperson for foreign policy, Ewa Ernst-Dziedžić, regarding the greater secessionist tendencies in the BiH entity of Republika Srpska promoted by member of the BiH Presidency Milorad Dodik, according to the Austrian distributor of multimedia press information APA-OTS.

This member of the Austrian Parliament therefore calls for "consistent action to protect the unity of Bosnia and Herzegovina" by both the EU and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"There is an urgent need for clear red lines for nationalist agitators. The European Union should therefore – as the US is doing – quickly define concrete options for action, including restrictive measures, so that it can react appropriately in the event of further threats to the stability and territorial integrity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. If this is not possible together within the EU, because individual countries like Hungary or Slovenia support Dodik's secession plans, we must discuss appropriate consequences in coordination with other like-minded European countries," she stated.

Bedrana Ribo from the Austrian Green Party, who was born in BiH, assessed that the events of the past few weeks are "very worrying" and that the country is in its biggest political crisis since the end of the war. She expressed concern that the word war is reappearing in media reports.

"The wounds from the war, which was only 30 years ago, are far from healed. Another war is the last thing people in Bosnia want or need. The country will not be able to overcome this crisis without outside help," emphasizes Ribo, who is also the chairwoman of the Austria-Bosnia and Herzegovina Friendship Group.

"After the US has already done so, it is high time for the EU to take a clear stance. The EU cannot afford to just watch with concern as nationalist activities become dangerous. I also see that Austria has a special responsibility here. Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina are strongly connected not only by geographical proximity, but also by historical and family ties. Unrest in the region would be clearly felt in Austria, not only because of the close economic ties between our two countries," she said.