Kozljak: After Sweden and Finland, BiH is the next NATO member
Although it is a holiday season, the debates continued at informal meetings on the conclusions of the recent NATO summit in Madrid, during which Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) had a special place. The head of the Department of International Relations and European Studies at International Burch University and former military representative of BiH to NATO, Professor Alija Kozljak, has just returned from Brussels and says that a NATO summit has not resonated as much as the last one. in a long time.
”The discussions that I also took part in the previous days are mainly in the sense that this summit has enormous significance. First for the organization itself, because after 12 years, the Alliance adopted its strategic concept. It emphasizes partnership in the sense of trusting partners in cooperative security, but also of helping partners who need that help;” says Professor Alija Kozljak.
A crucial decision for Bosnia and Herzegovina
With colleagues from NATO and the European Union (EU) in Brussels, whom he met despite being a holiday season, he discussed the strengthening of state institutions and the acceleration of our country’s Euro-Atlantic path, as well as topics that received special attention at the Madrid Summit and its margins.
”We pretty much agreed on that. After Sweden and Finland, which were invited to NATO, Bosnia and Herzegovina is next in line for membership, ”Kozljak pointed out.
On the road to Euro-Atlantic integration, he adds, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a partner of particular importance and a candidate country for membership, will have the help of NATO. Based on the decisions of the summit, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be strengthened to respond to external threats, directly from Russia and its satellites in the region, but also internal threats that we have seen in recent years.
”NATO concluded that security in Bosnia and Herzegovina is locked in with NATO security. It is integrated and it is a crucial decision for Bosnia and Herzegovina, as there is no longer any doubt that NATO will take care of security in Bosnia and Herzegovina. And implementation on the ground began just two days after the summit. Funds have already been allocated to increase the number of personnel at NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo, which of course paves the way for a possible deployment of more robust forces in BiH in the event that Russia blocks the extension of EUFOR’s mandate. The forces deployed nowadays are just a forerunner, ”Kozljak emphasized.
Help with reforms
In this context, the United Kingdom (UK) is sending cyber security experts, who will also be working to provide political support to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fight against destructive elements.
”In the coming period, we will not be surprised if the destroyers of the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Euro-Atlantic route are ignored. Least. This is the easy alternative of the three that have been prepared, that their views are not treated as relevant and that NATO’s path to Bosnia and Herzegovina is only seen in terms of officially made decisions. And all official decisions go in the direction that BiH stands for. ”
Following the Madrid Summit, joint activities were agreed to speed up Bosnia and Herzegovina’s pathways to Europe and NATO.
”It was concluded that both organizations will work to help the necessary reforms. In this respect, the reforms on the European path will be reinterpreted and implemented in stages, starting with the most necessary ones, in order to obtain candidate status in the autumn immediately after the elections. In this way, conditions would be created for more functioning state institutions, which is also a precondition for BiH’s invitation to NATO. I received an informal announcement that in September work will be accelerated with the delivery of the second reform program for Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Bosnia and Herzegovina may very soon be invited to join NATO, concluded Professor Alija Kozljak, Avaz writes.
E.Dz.