The President of the United States of America (USA) Joseph Biden has extended for another year the executive order on the state of emergency for the Balkans, assessing that the situation in the Balkans continues to pose a threat to the national security and foreign policy of the USA.
"The actions of persons who threaten peace and international stabilization efforts in the Balkans, including acts of extremist violence and disruptive activities, and the situation in the Balkans, which impedes progress towards effective and democratic governance and full integration into transatlantic institutions, continue and pose an unusual and exceptional threat for the national security and foreign policy of the United States," the statement, signed by the President of the United States, states.
The announcement states that because of this, the state of emergency for the Balkans should remain in force after June 26 of this year.
The first such executive order was passed on June 26, 2001.
The explanation stated that the provisions of the Law on International Economic Emergency Powers were applied, which states "unusual and exceptional threats to the security of the country and the foreign policy of the USA".
It is stated that these measures refer to North Macedonia, preventing the application of the Dayton Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council.
The US President subsequently amended that order by Executive Order 13304 on May 28, 2003, to take additional steps regarding certain actions that impede the implementation of, inter alia, the 2001 Ohrid Framework Agreement with respect to North Macedonia.
Also, on June 8, 2021, Executive Order 14033 was passed, which expanded the scope of the state of emergency at the national level.
This order states that the situation in the territory of the former SFRY and Albania during the past two decades, including the undermining of post-war agreements and institutions after the collapse of the former SFRY, as well as widespread corruption in various governments and institutions in the Balkans, hinders progress towards effective and democratic governance. and full integration into transatlantic institutions, and therefore represents an unusual and exceptional threat to the national security and foreign policy of the USA, according to the official website of the White House.
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