EU mulls ways to stop the possible breakup of Bosnia

European Union foreign ministers are discussing ways to ease tensions in Bosnia and prevent the possible breakup up of the ethnically divided Balkans country

BRUSSELS -- European Union foreign ministers on Monday discussed ways to ease tensions in Bosnia and prevent the possible breakup up of the ethnically divided Balkan country as the peace agreement brokered over 25 years ago continues to unravel.

“The nationalist and separatist rhetoric is increasing in Bosnia and Herzegovina and jeopardizing the stability and even the integrity of the country,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in Brussels, where he chaired a meeting of the 27-country bloc’s foreign ministers.

He said the “ministers will have to take a decision on how to stop these dynamics in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to avoid that the country can fall apart in pieces. This is a critical situation.”

The United States last month announced new sanctions against Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, who has for years been advocating that the Serb-run part of Bosnia should leave the rest of the country and unite with neighboring Serbia.