News in English     | 18.04.2021. 22:11 |

Brkić: At the moment, I'm not sure that all states would support BiH's accession

FENA Hana Imamović

SARAJEVO, April 18 (FENA) - Members of the Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina for Cooperation with NATO will, at a session on Monday, April 19, discuss the preliminary draft of the Reform Program for 2021, the Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister and the Chairman of the Commission formed in mid-March, Josip Brkić confirmed in an interview with FENA.

The formation of that commission was stalled for a year and a half after the current convocation of the BiH Council of Ministers was formed in December 2019, and it represents the institutional framework of BiH for the continuation of cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

The Commission consists of 21 members who are representatives of the BiH institutions from the three constituent peoples, and all decisions within the Commission should be made on the basis of the consensus including a document that represents the legal framework for cooperation with NATO - the Reform Program.

Since the Reform Program presents the state's plans for one calendar year, the members of the Commission will consider on Monday, Brkić emphasizes, what the institutions' contributions are in order to get the first working version of the document, and after the Commission approves the document it will be forwarded to the Council of Ministers.

Speaking about BiH's path to NATO membership, Brkić reminded that two of BiH's three direct neighbors are full members of NATO (Croatia and Montenegro), while Serbia has decided on military neutrality, but also for deeper cooperation with NATO.

"If we look further, we can see that the entire area of ​​Southeast Europe actually consists of NATO member countries. It is very important that NATO never ultimately asked BiH in the context of the change of status, but it was emphasized that what was agreed within BiH will be respected," Brkić underlined.

Therefore, BiH is currently in the process of cooperation with NATO, and annual reports, i.e. the Reform Programs, are submitted to Brussels, and there is a dynamic of political relations, while on the military side, BiH participates in NATO-led missions in Afghanistan, for which it has received much praise.

"When will BiH become a member of NATO and will BiH become a member at all is a question for the time ahead and that decision will probably be made by some new politicians. At this moment, it is important not to poison the space of cooperation that exists between BiH and NATO with unnecessary and useless narratives," he underlined.

Also, Brkić reminded that NATO membership is not only a question of the will of the state of BiH, but there is a need for 30 NATO member states to decide whether they are ready to accept BiH or not, and Brkić is not sure that today all states would respond in the affirmative.

He also reminded that in accordance with the BiH Foreign Policy Strategy defined in 2018, membership in the European Union and NATO are BiH's foreign policy goals, and he says that there is no dilemma about full membership of BiH in NATO, neither for him nor the party that he represents (Croat Democratic Union - HDZ).

"The point is that we need to reach a decision based on the consensus within BiH that there is cooperation and that it should not be blocked or be placed on the margins of BiH's foreign policy priorities. That is why it is necessary to continue the relationship between BiH and NATO on the principles of what is possible," he added.

He also says he understands different views on membership, but such views must be reconciled in order to continue cooperation with NATO.

"The formation of the Commission and the sending of the Reform Program in 2020 to Brussels was a decision made by consensus in the Council of Ministers, and a sincere and true friend will support what has been agreed within BiH. In the end, everyone appeals to that and he emphasizes that no one will come from the outside and impose something that requires a long-term and sustainable agreement within BiH," Brkić explained.

For him, it is not new that the Russian Federation opposes the policy of NATO enlargement, but the respect for the decisions of BiH institutions and the sovereign will of its citizens is the foundation of fair relations, and BiH's relations with any third country does not prevent BiH on its path to the EU and NATO.

"The Russian Federation is a very important energy partner of BiH, as it is the case in our final phase of negotiations on BiH's membership in the World Trade Organization, but it is also an important market for BiH exports. We must take into account what is in the interest of BiH and how to preserve it within well-known global positions," he added.

He reminded that different countries have different views on the EU and NATO, because within NATO there are countries that are not members of the EU, and they are great friends of BiH and support it on the NATO path, such as Turkey, while on the other hand within the EU there are countries that are not members of NATO, such as Austria.

However, what they have in common is that the European Union and NATO promote a system of values ​for which the citizens of BiH believe should be more deeply rooted in the BiH society, and these are freedoms, democracy, the development of human rights standards and a whole range of other values.

"I am optimistic that an open-door policy, which has proven to be a positive NATO policy, as well as the EU enlargement policy, have their own perspective. I will remind you that last year, in a challenging period, North Macedonia became a member of NATO," said Brkić.

Therefore, he expressed confidence that NATO's open-door policy will remain alive, that BiH will reach the moment when it will decide on membership in a way that all those who need to decide on it will be asked for the transfer of part of the sovereignty through a referendum or through the parliament because different states have decided on it in different ways.

However, Brkić is not sure that within NATO, as well as within BiH, there is a consensus at the moment that BiH would be accepted into full membership in NATO, but that is why it is important to continue the dialogue.

 

(FENA) S. R.

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