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NATO

In December 2009 NATO Foreign Ministers decided that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) would join the Membership Action Plan (MAP) once it achieved the necessary progress in its reform efforts. Since then, BiH made significant progress on reform. On April 23, 2010, in Tallinn, NATO Foreign Ministers welcomed its decision on destruction of surplus ammunition and arms and its new ISAF contributions. Foreign Ministers remained concerned, however, that the defence property issue was not yet resolved. Therefore while they invited BiH to join MAP, they authorized the North Atlantic Council in Permanent Session to accept BiH´s first Annual National Programme only when all immovable defence properties identified as necessary for future defence purposes had been officially registered as the state property of BiH for use by the BiH Ministry of Defence.

Although membership in NATO's Partnership for Peace program does not bring the same collective security guarantees as full NATO membership, it is a first step in that direction. The Partnership for Peace was established as an expression of common beliefs that stability and security in the Euro-Atlantic region can be achieved only through cooperation and joint action. The protection and promotion of basic freedoms and human rights, preservation of freedoms, justice and peace through democracy are common Partnership for Peace values that are completely shared by Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina anticipates continued co-operation with NATO in order to improve the capabilities of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina to co-operate with the forces of NATO member states and Partnership for Peace states. Thanks to ongoing co-operation with NATO as well as bilateral co-operation with many Alliance members, Bosnia and Herzegovina has already achieved substantial and visible results in many areas, such as transparency of defence planning and budgeting and democratic control of the armed forces.

One of the basic principles for the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina is to organise, staff, equip and train forces so as to achieve interoperability among the two entity armies and with NATO and partner state forces. The ultimate goal is to achieve interoperability with NATO across the full range of defence functions, from the highest levels of defence policy decision-making through the operational and tactical levels of military responsibility.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, being aware of its resources and situation, wants to establish co-operation with NATO, with priorities in the areas that will enhance the establishment of command, control, communication and information systems, planning and budgeting, resource management and training and equipping; these will facilitate internal and external interoperability, and thus enhance the operational capabilities of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly with respect to peace support and humanitarian operations.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Union Foreign Policy Chief Catherine Ashton told Bosnian leaders in October 2013 they must put aside divisions and make substantive reforms to advance toward membership in NATO and the European Union. Clinton said recent local government elections in Bosnia-Herzegovina showed the strength of people's commitment to their future. It is a strength that she said must be matched by their politicians. Seventeen years after the end of fighting here, Bosnian leaders have still not fully implemented the Dayton Accords that ended the war. U.S. officials say there remain long-standing issues of governance, accountability, budgeting and ownership of state property.