President Donald Trump has extended the executive order declaring a state of emergency in the Balkans for an additional year.
The official document, published in the Federal Register, states that the situation in the Balkan region continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.
The notice emphasizes that the actions of individuals who threaten peace and efforts toward stabilization in the Balkans continue to hinder democratic progress and the region’s integration into Euro-Atlantic institutions, according to Euronews Albania.
For these reasons, the American president has decided that the state of emergency will remain in effect for another 12 months. This decision will be communicated to Congress and became official upon publication in the Federal Register.
“The actions of persons who threaten peace and international stabilization efforts in the Balkans — including extremist violence and divisive activities — and the situation in the Balkans, which obstructs progress toward effective democratic governance and full integration into transatlantic institutions, continue to represent an unusual and significant threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” reads the order signed by Trump.
The executive order was first issued on June 26, 2001, by former President George W. Bush, following the wars in the Balkans.
Its purpose was to implement provisions of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to address “unusual and extraordinary threats to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
At that time, the measures referred to the situation in North Macedonia, violations of the Dayton Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 concerning Kosovo.
Subsequently, President Bush amended the order with Executive Order 13304 on May 28, 2003, to take additional steps related to actions hindering the implementation, among others, of the 2001 Ohrid Framework Agreement concerning North Macedonia.
Moreover, on June 8, 2021, Executive Order 14033 was adopted, which expanded the scope of the national emergency.
This order states that the situation in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and Albania over the past two decades — including violations of post-conflict agreements and institutions following the breakup of Yugoslavia, as well as widespread corruption in governments and various institutions across the Balkans — obstructs progress toward effective democratic governance and full integration into transatlantic institutions.
