The United States (US) has 398 active sanctions against individuals, companies and organizations from the Western Balkans, as of January 31, 2025, according to a Voice of America research.
By far the most sanctions relate to Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – 177, followed by Serbia (80), Kosovo (60), North Macedonia (46), Albania (23) and Montenegro (11). One punitive measure refers to a person from Croatia, writes Voice of America.
Voice of America has created the first searchable database that includes all sanctions from the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department (OFAC) and sanctions imposed by the State Department in the period from 2017 to 2024.
“Sanctions are one of the most important tools of US foreign policy,” says Richard Nefju, a sanctions expert who until recently was the State Department’s coordinator for the global fight against corruption. “They give us the opportunity to deal with hostile actors and to put pressure on those we want to make a certain political decision.”
John Smith, former director of OFAC, says that the primary goal of US sanctions is “to prevent and stop certain worrying activities and to make individuals change their behavior.” He adds that it is important to note that most US sanctions, including those for the Western Balkans, are not directed at entire countries but at individuals and organizations.
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The US has mostly imposed sanctions for the Western Balkans in two time periods. Between 2001 and 2004, they were introduced due to war crimes, destabilization of countries and endangering peace after the breakup of Yugoslavia. After a longer period with only a few sanctions per year, these foreign policy measures became relevant again from 2021, and mostly relate to corruption, endangering peace and stability, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Among others, in the previous four years, numerous high officials have been sanctioned, such as the President of Republika Srpska in BiH Milorad Dodik, ministers in the Government of Serbia Aleksandar Vulin and Nenad Popović, former Prime Minister of North Macedonia Nikola Gruevski, former President of Serbia and Montenegro Svetozar Marović, and former Prime Minister of the Federation of BiH Fadil Novalić.
“In the past few years, we have seen many different actors in the Western Balkans who are threatening the stability of the countries in the region. They can do this in different ways, by undermining democratic processes, endangering human rights or engaging in corruption that drains those countries,” says Nefju, who is now a senior researcher at Columbia University.
Voice of America has determined that the remaining sanctions for the Western Balkans are most often imposed due to terrorism, organized crime and drug trafficking.
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