Bosnia and Herzegovina's path to NATO depends on the decision of the BiH Court of Appeals!

If the BiH Court of Appeals does not soon rule on the verdict of the BiH Court, which last year ordered the registration of former JNA property in Han Pijesak to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, NATO will not activate the Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Bosnia and Herzegovina at the NATO session in Warsaw, Poland this year, writes Patria.

Time is running out. The annual NATO summit is scheduled for July 8 and 9 this year.

For NATO to activate the MAP for Bosnia and Herzegovina, visible progress in registering military property to the state of BiH is required. Significant steps have been taken in the Federation of BiH in recent years. As many as 23 military facilities have been registered to the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, authorities from Republika Srpska have not registered a single such facility.

The main battle is now over the military property in Han Pijesak.

BiH Court Judge Anđelko Marijanović ruled at the end of 2015 that 11,474 square meters of land and military facilities in the municipality of Han Pijesak in RS should be registered as property of BiH. This is one of the largest military facilities in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Government of Republika Srpska did not agree with such a court decision. They filed an objection with the Court of Appeals of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Experts warn that RS is aware that the Court of Appeals will not overturn the first-instance court decision, as it is a well-founded verdict. However, the authorities from RS want to gain time. Under the influence of Russia, they do not want to join NATO.

Even if the BiH Court of Appeals makes a decision on registering the property in Han Pijesak to the state of BiH at this very moment, it will be difficult to complete the registration of all that property by the summer of this year. Because it involves a huge amount of documentation. But, again, we have some chance.

If Bosnia and Herzegovina attends the NATO summit in July without having registered the property in Han Pijesak to the state, the MAP will not be activated, meaning NATO will remain far from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It is unnecessary to mention that NATO is the one that further "certifies" the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina, much more than the European Union, writes Patria.