'If Čović didn't block BiH's entry into NATO, Pendeš would send the Annual National Program without the Council of Ministers'

(Patria) - A session of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled for tomorrow, February 12, where the draft Annual National Program (ANP) will be presented to the state ministers for the fourth time, the adoption of which should ultimately lead Bosnia and Herzegovina to the activation of the Action Plan for membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The adoption of the "Annual National Program of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018-2019", which includes answers to a set of questions in the areas of politics, defense, resources, and legal issues, does not mean automatic entry into NATO for BiH, but it would mean the activation of the Action Plan (MAP), which is another step for Bosnia and Herzegovina towards membership in this military alliance.

Most ministers from the Council of Ministers who spoke to Patria are aware that, as they say, the document prepared by the Commission for NATO Integration Process of Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be accepted by ministers of Serb ethnicity tomorrow, for the fourth time. The Minister of Civil Affairs, Adil Osmanović, told Patria that "he does not believe that the Annual National Program can be adopted tomorrow."

"I doubt that colleagues from Republika Srpska have changed their previous opinion," said Osmanović, emphasizing that he personally supports NATO integration and condemns the obstruction in the process of adopting the Annual National Program.

Experts see a way out of this situation in the current Minister of Defense of BiH, Marina Pendeš (HDZ), sending the already prepared Annual National Plan to NATO without the consent of the Council of Ministers, and for BiH to continue its NATO path. The member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Željko Komšić, recently spoke about this during his visit to Slovenia, when he emphasized that the ANP is a technical rather than a political issue.

"A new decision of the Presidency of BiH is not needed, a new decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not needed, nor is it even necessary for the Council of Ministers to react," said Komšić.

"The way out of this situation is for the current Minister of Defense of BiH to simply send the already prepared Annual National Plan to NATO, and for us to continue our path towards this type of integration," added the member of the Presidency.

However, analysts warn that Minister Pendeš needs the approval of her party leader, Dragan Čović, to send the Report.

The Democratic Front has previously stated that the statement of the president of HDZ, Dragan Čović, that two members of the Presidency of BiH are conditioning the third member of the Presidency on the activation of the ANP, is "the crown evidence that NATO integration is not in the interest of HDZ BiH."

"Mr. Čović has publicly admitted that, unlike two members of the Presidency of BiH, NATO integration is not in his interest nor in the interest of HDZ's policy. With this move, Čović has once again not only sided with Milorad Dodik, but also explicitly stated that he supports the blockade of NATO integration by his pro-Russian partner Milorad Dodik," the DF stated at the end of last month.

Authorities from Republika Srpska, an entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, strongly oppose Bosnia and Herzegovina's entry into NATO, although the decision on accession to the Alliance was previously signed by members of SNSD, the ruling party in RS, who are now trying to dispute it, so Čović's current blockade of Bosnia and Herzegovina's NATO path is also interpreted as another of Čović's support for Dodik.