The European Parliament called for imposing sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik over his destabilizing role in the country.
"The EP reiterates its call for the adoption of targeted sanctions against destabilizing actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), including those who threaten its sovereignty and territorial integrity, especially Milorad Dodik," said a resolution adopted by the European Parliament.
The resolution was adopted with 407 votes in favor, 92 against, and 142 abstentions.
It also expressed concern about the timing, content, and manner of changes to Bosnia's electoral law and the constitution, which were initiated by the high representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina on election day.
Nearly three decades after war ravaged the Balkan country, Bosnia-Herzegovina continues to be burdened by its ethnic divisions.
The Balkan state has been governed by a dysfunctional administrative system created by the 1995 Dayton Agreement that succeeded in ending the conflict in the 1990s but largely failed in providing a framework for the country's political development.
Bosnia-Herzegovina remains partitioned between a Serb entity and a Muslim-Croat federation connected by a weak central government.
In the war's wake, ethnic political parties have long exploited the country's divisions in a bid to maintain power.
For years, Dodik has been stoking tensions with his frequent calls for Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serbs to separate even further from the country's central institutions, earning him fresh sanctions from the United States in January.
Dodik is seeking his third term as the president of the RS, after completing a stint in the tripartite presidency.
