<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares received his Bosnian and Herzegovina counterpart, Elmedin Konaković, in Madrid on Monday. He reiterated Spain's support for the country's territorial integrity. Konaković expressed his gratitude for the statement issued last March by Spain denouncing the political measures of the authorities of the Republika Srpska (the Bosnian Serb entity) "contrary to the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina."</strong></h4> According to a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Albares conveyed to Konaković "Spain's firm commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina" and its support for initiatives that contribute to bringing stability to the country, the initiation of accession negotiations with the European Union, and the arrival of funds from the Growth Plan for the Western Balkans. "To this end, Bosnia and Herzegovina has the support of Spain, the European Union, and other partners in the international community," the Ministry stated. Albares also highlighted the role of the EUFOR-Althea mission, in which Spain participates, in maintaining the country's stability. For his part, according to Bosnian media, Elmedin Konaković expressed his "special gratitude to Minister Albares" for his statement last month regarding the measures taken by the Republika Srpska leadership "contrary to the constitutional order" and informed him about the current political situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the "activities and attacks" of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik. Last March, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement calling for "respect for institutions in the face of growing tension in Bosnia and Herzegovina" and warning that "the recent actions of the Republika Srpska authorities" are "contrary to the constitutional order of Bosnia and Herzegovina" and jeopardize "the territorial integrity and stability of the country, which are fundamental for the entire Western Balkans region." "We call for full respect for the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and for the judicial decisions of the Constitutional Court adopted on Friday the 7th," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a statement. "We urge all political actors to reduce tensions and resume dialogue, for the benefit of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina," it concluded. On March 7, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina suspended a series of laws passed by the Parliament of the Republika Srpska (RS) to prevent state authorities from functioning in this Serb-majority territory. The laws were adopted in late February by Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik, after being sentenced by the Sarajevo state court to one year in prison and six years of disqualification from office for disobeying the decisions of the International High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, a German. Specifically, the Bosnian Serb president adopted, and Parliament confirmed, a series of laws prohibiting the Prosecutor's Office, the State Court, the High Judicial Council, the central police agency SIPA, and the intelligence service of Bosnia and Herzegovina from operating in the territory of Republika Srpska, as well as a law in 2023 prohibiting the High Representative's decisions from being published in the Official Gazette of the Serbian entity. All of these laws were suspended on Friday by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Dodik rejected the ruling, which he called "worthy of the Politburo of the USSR." Miorad Dodik, who defends the independence of the Republika Srpska from the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina—thereby violating the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords—does not recognize Schmidt as High Representative because his election has not been endorsed by Russia and China on the UN Security Council.
