Komšić: Defense Minister can submit the Annual National Plan for NATO without the Council of Ministers

(Patria) - The Annual National Plan (ANP) of Bosnia and Herzegovina for NATO is a purely technical issue that does not require any political decision, and it can be submitted by the executive body such as the Minister of Defense,” said member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Komšić, reports Patria.

Komšić spoke on Monday afternoon in Ljubljana at the conference “The Future of Bosnia and Herzegovina: How to Accelerate EU and NATO Integrations?” organized by the International Institute for Middle Eastern and Balkan Studies (IFIMES).

Komšić spoke about the importance of Bosnia and Herzegovina becoming a member of the EU and the NATO alliance, as well as the problems the country and its citizens face on this path.

"The war is over in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the war aims have not been abandoned, which is why the EU and NATO are the only safe harbor for Bosnia and Herzegovina, so that we do not think about whether every other generation in BiH will be caught in some new conflict."

“If this opportunity is missed now, who knows what will happen afterwards,” said Komšić.

Authorities from Republika Srpska, an entity in Bosnia and Herzegovina, strongly oppose Bosnia and Herzegovina's entry into NATO, although members of SNSD, the ruling party in RS, who are now trying to dispute it, had previously signed the decision on accession to the Alliance. SNSD has also received support for Bosnia and Herzegovina not joining NATO from HDZ Bosnia and Herzegovina and its president Dragan Čović.

“Those who were believed to be committed to Bosnia and Herzegovina's NATO path are now starting to calculate,” said Komšić.

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, would mean the activation of the Membership Action Plan (MAP) in NATO for BiH, which is another step for Bosnia and Herzegovina towards membership in this military alliance.

The BiH Council of Ministers today again removed the Proposal of the Annual National Program of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the request of Mirko Šarović, BiH Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations. 

Komšić said that the Annual National Program can be adopted by the BiH Minister of Defense Marina Pendeš, and that she does not need decisions from other authorities for that.

“A new decision of the BiH Presidency is not needed, a new decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina is not needed, not even the Council of Ministers needs to react,” said Komšić.

 “The way out of this situation is for the current BiH Minister of Defense to simply send the already prepared Annual National Plan to NATO, and for us to continue our path of integration,” he added.

Komšić announced that as a member of the BiH Presidency, he will not support the appointment of the Chairman of the BiH Council of Ministers Zoran Tegeltija until the Annual National Program is sent to NATO.