What does President Biden's new executive order mean for the Western Balkans?

WASHINGTON – Former Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the US Treasury Department, John Smith, said on Friday that changes to President Joe Biden's executive order for the Western Balkans are "signs that the US government continues to be concerned about the situation" in this region.

Commenting on the VOA Bosnian service, former director Smith said the changes also show that the United States “believes that sanctions – or the threat of sanctions, since no immediate determination was made under the new executive order – will advance American national security and foreign policy objectives in the region.”

In a letter to the US Congress on Wednesday, President Biden said he has decided to keep in force the executive order on the Western Balkans, originally announced in 2001 and amended in 2003 and 2021. He made this decision given that “violent extremist acts, obstructionist actions, and the situation in the Western Balkans, which impede progress toward effective and democratic governance and full integration into transatlantic institutions... continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”

The order, according to Mr. Smith, was expanded with several elements, including “attempt, as a basis for determination” - while previously only the acts committed were provided for. It also adds new categories for sanctioning such as being a member of “a sanctioned entity”, the inclusion in sanctions of the network of persons who have common ownership or control with sanctioned persons, as well as the spouse or adult children of the designated person.

He says these new changes "suggest that the US government has in mind certain individuals who it is considering under the new measures."

The US government "is likely trying to send them a strong message that they need to change their approach or risk facing US sanctions," Mr Smith said.

The initial 2001 executive order by former President George W. Bush, following the Balkan wars, provided for sanctions related to violent extremism, violations of the Dayton Accords and UN Resolution 1244 on Kosovo, and threatened stability in the region.

This order has been renewed every year since then by American Presidents./ VOA