International Desk

The EU said Friday it would send reinforcements for its peacekeeping mission in deeply divided Bosnia after the nation's top court suspended separatist laws adopted by its Serb statelet.

Bosnia's Constitutional Court on Friday suspended legislation proposed by Serb leader Milorad Dodik that rejected the authority of the federal police and judiciary within the country's Serb entity, the Republika Srpska (RS).

Since the end of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war in the 1990s, the country has consisted of two autonomous halves -- the Serb-dominated RS and a Muslim-Croat statelet -- which each have their own government and parliament, and are linked by weak central institutions.

A week after Dodik was convicted for defying an international envoy charged with overseeing Bosnia's peace accords, the court's temporary suspension of the separatist laws on Friday has cast further uncertainty on the nation's divided politics and its fragile, post-war institutions.

The European Union Force (EUFOR) announced Friday that it will "temporarily increase" the size of its peacekeeping mission in the country.

"This is a proactive measure aimed at assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina in the interest of all citizens," EUFOR said in a statement, affirming its "continued support to security and stability" in the nation.

It did not specify the number of additional "reserve forces" that would be deployed.

But the European peacekeeping mission had 1,500 personnel in Bosnia, according to a statement from an Austrian parliamentary mission that visited the country in February.

NATO also announced its chief Mark Rutte will visit the capital Sarajevo on Monday.
- Separatist agenda -

Earlier this week, Dodik had signed off on the separatist legislation, which was adopted by the Serb deputies in RS and had been due to come into force there on Friday.

The Serb leader, who has pursued a relentless separatist agenda for years, had urged ethnic Serbs to quit the federal police force and courts, and join his RS.

"We have ensured them a job, while preserving their legal status, ranks, and positions. They will receive the same salary, or even a higher salary than they had," said Dodik.

He later added there were no plans for violent escalation but insisted that the RS had "the ability to defend itself, and we will do that".

Both the European Union and the US embassy in Sarajevo condemned the law, while Bosnia's Foreign Minister Elmedin Konakovic described it as a "textbook coup d'etat" in comments on Wednesday.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday that Dodik's revolt against Bosnia's federal institutions threatened its "security and stability".

Rubio called on regional partners to join Washington in "pushing back against this dangerous and destabilizing behavior", in a social media post.

The EU delegation in Bosnia said in a statement that decisions by the Constitutional Court, "including the provisional measures, must be respected by all".

- Tension -

Dodik pushed the legislation through the RS parliament last week, after he was sentenced to a year in prison and banned from office for six years for refusing to comply with decisions made by Christian Schmidt -- the international high representative charged with overseeing Bosnia's peace accords.

Dodik also said this week that he planned to ignore a summons from Bosnia's chief prosecutor who is investigating Dodik for allegedly undermining the constitution.

The now-suspended legislation had escalated already fraught tensions on the ground.

At the Srebrenica Memorial Centre in RS -- where most of the 8,000 victims killed by ethnic Serb forces in July 1995 are buried -- the facility said it had closed its doors "until further notice", citing uncertainty triggered by the ongoing political crisis.

During an interview with a local broadcaster, Darko Culum -- who oversees Bosnia's federal police force -- dispelled rumours that their offices had been targeted by operations from RS security personnel in east Sarajevo and Banja Luka.

"The security situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina is stable and calm," he told N1 television.

The Bosnian Muslim member of the country's joint presidency, Denis Becirovic, implored state employees to remain in their positions.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina will prevail. It is difficult indeed, but we will win. We cannot give up," he said.

Becirovic also invited EUFOR to deploy its forces "at strategic points" in the country.

RS leader Dodik's conviction last week was linked to his role in pushing through two laws in 2023 previously annulled by high representative Schmidt.

The legislation refused to recognise decisions made by the high representative and Bosnia's constitutional court in RS.

This followed months of tensions, as Dodik engaged in a bitter feud with Schmidt, who holds vast powers as high representative, including the ability to effectively fire political leaders and strip them of power.

Dodik has repeatedly threatened to pull the Serb statelet out of Bosnia's central institutions -- including its army, judiciary and tax system, which has led to sanctions from the United States.