prijava
SARAJEVO, January 20 (FENA) - Despite numerous global dilemmas, as well as accumulated internal issues in the United States, Bosnia and Herzegovina has been given an exceptional opportunity to gather progressive forces and take key steps towards Euro-Atlantic integration during Joe Biden's presidency, said in an interview with FENA, before the inauguration of the new US president, former BiH military representative to NATO and professor at Burch University, Alija Kožljak.
Kožljak reminds that the new president Biden announced this as part of his address on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Agreement, emphasizing that the work in BiH is not yet finished. In that sense, he clearly stated his intention to work together with the international community and the people in BiH for this country to have a brighter future and become a functional state.
According to him, this is supported by the fact that President Biden will work without delay on the revitalization of US relations with NATO, which have been significantly diminished during Trump's mandate.
"These moves are eagerly expected in Brussels and this is confirmed by the fact that NATO, soon after Biden's inauguration, will hold a summit in his honor, and present NATO's 2030 Reform Agenda.
Its adoption during the summit will mark concrete steps towards a new era of NATO which, among other things, implies a stronger global role, strengthening the cohesion and unity of the Alliance, and strengthening political ties with Europe. The mentioned goals are not achievable without the strong engagement of the United States, which will undoubtedly be renewed during Biden's mandate. Therefore, the US influence will be more concrete, as well as the US support for NATO aspirants, such as BiH," said Kožljak.
This, in the case of BiH, he emphasizes, means that the new US administration, through the implementation of the mentioned Agenda, will soften the edge of the remaining skeptics about enlargement, i.e. the American position will prevail that BiH should become a NATO member as soon as possible.
"Therefore, regardless of the more important priorities, this approach will clearly express the American interest in enlargement, which is a sufficient guideline for the administration to take the necessary actions to achieve this. We should have in mind that it is not necessary for President Biden to deal directly with Bosnia and Herzegovina, although he will do so from time to time, the parts of the administration in charge of this area will deal with it.
The ambassadors and other US diplomats will deal with them, especially those in Brussels and Sarajevo, who will, in accordance with the obtained guidelines, work strictly on the implementation of the mentioned policies and the achievement of the set goals. And the special envoy of the US president will probably deal with this matter, who will be appointed by Biden at a later stage and sent to BiH, where he will implement a joint US-EU approach to Bosnia and Herzegovina with the new High Representative for BiH," explains Kožljak.
The dysfunctional system and confusing political situation in BiH are directly linked to the destructive role of political leaders in these integration processes.
"Therefore, one thing is for sure - just as the blade of European skeptics will be blunted, so will the obstructions that have been on the scene so far be dealt with in BiH. Such behavior will face very harsh criticism, with a unified and clear demand by the US and the EU for constructive action.
Because, those that are not constructive, will be less and less relevant, and the relevance will be strengthened by a wider circle of interlocutors, which will include the academic community, media and civil society, which is an alternative that must result in success.
All the necessary legal preconditions have already been met. Key political decisions have already been made so that the unnecessary politicization of this issue has lost all meaning. Therefore, there is no need for the Presidency or the Council of Ministers of BiH to deal with technical issues, such as the submission of the ANP (the BiH Reform Program). A decision has already been made in that sense, as it has been decided that the BiH institutions should do everything within their competencies so that the country becomes a member of NATO as soon as possible," concluded Kožljak.
(FENA) S. R.
