Members of the BiH delegation in NATO PA at 62nd NATO PA annual session

A delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH PA) in the Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO PA), consisting of the Chairman and members Nikola Lovrinović, Dušanka Majkić and Asim Sarajlić, are participating in the 62nd annual session of the NATO PA which is taking place in Istanbul.

At the three-day NATO PA session so far has been discussed on a number of current issues, such as flows of decisions implementations of NATO Summit in Wales and Warsaw, the relations of NATO with Russia and the transatlantic relations, as well as efforts of the Arab world to build a new security structure and strategy. In addition, it has been discussed about  need to further strengthening the alliance in the fight against ISIL, the further strategy for maintaining international support to Afghanistan, needs for additional investment in the defense sector of NATO countries, and the fight against terrorism and all forms of radicalism, the migration crisis and security challenges that crisis brings.

At the session of the Committee on the Civil Dimension of Security NATO PA it has been discussed the final special report on the topic: "The Western Balkans: Challenges of European and Euro-Atlantic integration". On this occasion, it has been presented the report of the Committee members, who have been on 8 and 9 March 2016 in a working visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, and which represents the view of the current situation in the Western Balkans countries. The Special Rapporteur of the Committee on the Civil Dimension of NATO PA Ulla Schmidth emphasized that this report should be impulse and motivation for greater cooperation between the institutions of the legislative and executive authorities of the regional countries, in order to move forward for better future in NATO and the European Union. She urged Bosnian politicians to continue with reforms and commitments, with the assessment that our country deserves a European future. Noting that the positive processes in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be continued, Schmith called NATO members to help Bosnia and Herzegovina with the aim of activating the Membership Action Plan (MAP) in NATO.

The chairman of the delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH in NATO PA Nikola Lovrinović in his address to the members of the Committee, referring to the report, called on its members to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to activate the MAP, stressing improvements that were made on BiH's path to the EU. Lovrinović recalled present participants that during the ministerial conference of NATO in Tallinn, in 2010 Bosnia and Herzegovina have been conditionally offered to proceed with implementation of the Membership Action Plan, for which the condition was the registration of military assets, respectively 69 military locations. He concluded that in the past six years, this issue proved to be a practically impossible mission, and that the entire process went on the political field, what was pointed out during the visit the Chairman of NATO PA's Mr. Mike Turner to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Lovrinović pointed out that there are different views in our country about joining NATO, and that a decision on membership in NATO remains an unsolved issue, but not an impossible goal. It was concluded that the activation of the MAP does not prejudge the decision on the entry of Bosnia and Herzegovina in NATO, but continues with the process of achieving the standards that will allow our soldiers, through programs offered by NATO, to move into a new phase of reorganization and equipping of the BiH Armed Forces.

Dušanka Majkić, the member of the delegation, referred to the specific parts of the report of Special Rapporteur Ulla Smith, commenting the issue of referendum in the Bosnian entity of Republika Srpska that was held on 25 September 2016, as well as on issues relating to the registration of military property.

Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly during this session had a series of bilateral meetings with the delegations of the Western Balkans and Southeast Europe, and it was emphasized a high level of understanding in communicating with members of the delegation of the regional countries, particularly Montenegro, Croatian and Serbian. (end)