Today’s decision by the Republika Srpska National Assembly to begin the drafting of legislation to create parallel institutions in the Republika Srpska is a further escalatory step. Members of the governing coalition in the RS must be aware that continuing this dead end path of challenging the Dayton framework is damaging the economic prospects of the entity, threatening the stability of the country and the entire region and jeopardising BiH’s future with the EU. Increased tensions and the blocking of functionality of the institutions will restrict economic opportunities available to citizens, deter investment, and distract from the fight against corruption. RS politicians and those in the FBIH have opportunities to resume dialogue and to urgently find a resolution. We encourage all leaders to build mutual trust by immediately abandoning divisive and escalatory rhetoric and return to the state institutions in full capacity, where they also can talk about issues of disagreement. The focus should now be on moving forward on reforms important for the citizens and for the EU accession path.