The High Representative and EU Special Representative, Valentin Inzko welcomed the decision of NATO Foreign Ministers at their meeting in Tallinn to invite Bosnia and Herzegovina to start the Membership Action Plan.

“This is an important reassurance of security for ordinary people in BiH,” said HR/EUSR Inzko, stressing that on several occasions over the past months, in Brussels and in Sarajevo, he conveyed this assessment to the North Atlantic Council.

NATO Foreign Ministers remained concerned that the immovable defence property had not yet been resolved and at their summit in Tallinn, they authorized the North Atlantic Council to accept BiH´s first Annual National Programme (the core implementing mechanism for the Membership Action Plan) only after 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.

“The conclusions of NATO’s Foreign Ministers are fully in line with the conditions set by the Peace Implementation Council’s Steering Board for a decision on OHR’s closure and transition to an EU led engagement” said HR/EUSR Inzko today. Objective 2 of the PIC Steering Board’s ‘5+2’ agenda calls for an acceptable and sustainable resolution of defence property.

While recent progress on movable defence property is to be welcomed, agreement on immovable property remains outstanding.

The High Representative and EU Special Representative urged the authorities in BiH to use the Tallinn decision to create political momentum which would lead to concluding an agreement on immovable defence property, in line with the BiH Law on Defence, through which the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina would own defence property required for future defence purposes.

“If BiH is to embark on its MAP in September with Montenegro the political leadership of BiH will need to come to an agreement before the elections,” said Inzko. “They have an opportunity to show the electorate that they can do something positive,” he added.