Executive Order on Taking Additional Steps with Respect to the Situation in the Western Balkans

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) (NEA), section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (8 U.S.C. 1182(f)), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,

I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, in view of events in the Western Balkans, including continued attempts by individuals to challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Western Balkans nations, to undermine post-war agreements and institutions, to engage in significant corruption that erodes the rule of law and trust in democratic governance, and to evade United States Government sanctions, and in order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13219 of June 26, 2001 (Blocking Property of Persons Who Threaten International Stabilization Efforts in the Western Balkans), as amended by Executive Order 13304 of May 28, 2003 (Termination of Emergencies With Respect to Yugoslavia and Modification of Executive Order 13219 of June 26, 2001), and expanded in scope by Executive Order 14033 of June 8, 2021 (Blocking Property and Suspending Entry Into the United States of Certain Persons Contributing to the Destabilizing Situation in the Western Balkans), hereby order:

Section 1. Amendments to Executive Order 14033. Executive Order 14033 is hereby amended by striking section 1 and inserting, in lieu thereof, the following:

"Section 1. (a) All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:

(i) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of any area or state in the Western Balkans;

(ii) to be responsible for or complicit in, including by involvement in developing, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the Western Balkans;

(iii) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, a violation of, or an act that has obstructed or threatened the implementation of, any regional security, peace, cooperation, or mutual recognition agreement or framework or accountability mechanism, or to pose a significant risk of committing such an act, related to the Western Balkans, including the Prespa Agreement of 2018; the Ohrid Framework Agreement of 2001; United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244; the Dayton Accords; or the Conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference Council held in London in December 1995, including the decisions or conclusions of the High Representative, the Peace Implementation Council, or its Steering Board; or the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, or, with respect to the former Yugoslavia, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals;

(iv) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, serious human rights abuse in the Western Balkans;

(v) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to engage in, corruption related to the Western Balkans, including corruption by, on behalf of, or otherwise related to a government in the Western Balkans, or a current or former government official at any level of government in the Western Balkans, such as the misappropriation of public assets, expropriation of private assets for personal gain or political purposes, or bribery;

(vi) to be a leader, official, or member of an entity, including a government entity, that has engaged in, or attempted to engage in, any of the activities described in subsections (1)(a)(i)-(v) of this order, or whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;

(vii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;

(viii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;

(ix) to own or control, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or

(x) to be a spouse or adult child of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to subsections (1)(a)(i)-(v) of this order.

(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section apply except to the extent provided by statutes, or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted before the date of this order."

Sec. 2. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other persons.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 8, 2025.

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