SARAJEVO -- Bosnian Serb leaders' repeated threats of secession from the rest of Bosnia-Herzegovina are "unacceptable" and are intensifying already high tensions in the region, the EU presidency said during a visit to Sarajevo on April 20.
Tobias Billstroem, the foreign minister of Sweden -- which currently holds the EU presidency -- also expressed concern about moves by the Serbian entity to criminalize defamation and restrict the rights of the LGBT community, saying they undermine the Western Balkan country's efforts to join the European Union.
"Renewed threats of secession coming from Republika Srpska are unacceptable, groundless, and contribute to a climate of distrust and tension at the time of crisis in Europe when what is needed is stability and cooperation," he said.
"Bosnia-Herzegovina deserves to be part of the European Union and there is no alternative to that, but to achieve that you have to implement reforms in which Sweden and the EU will support you," Billstroem added.
The 1995 Dayton agreement that ended the Bosnian civil war established an administrative system under which Bosnia remains partitioned between the Serbian entity, Republika Srpska, and the Bosniak-Croat federation connected by a weak central government.
Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik has long threatened to seek independence from the rest of Bosnia. He rejects the administrative arrangement and the authority of the Office of the High Representative -- the international community's overseer of civil and other aspects of the Dayton agreement.
He renewed that threat on April 14 while on a visit to Belgrade to meet Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, citing a dispute over a property law.
"We are considering in the most serious terms to make a decision on independence and secede Republika Srpska [from Bosnia] unless the property issue is solved," Dodik said at the time.
Dodik has been hit with sanctions by the United States and Britain over alleged destabilization efforts and corruption.
Billstroem, who was in Sarajevo to meet with his counterpart, Bosnian Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic, said that "the EU is deeply concerned by recent steps by Republika Srpska."
It "would be a step backwards for Bosnia-Herzegovina's European path" if the new laws proposed in the entity are eventually adopted.
Bosnia was granted EU candidate status on December 15, 2022.
Konakovic said the two discussed ability in the region and the importance of Bosnia's territorial integrity.