The accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) has been under negotiations since 2008.

Background

The 1995 NATO bombing of Bosnia and Herzegovina targeted the

Bosnian Serb Army The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...

and together with international pressure led to the resolution of the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...

and the signing of the Dayton Agreement in 1995. Since then, NATO has led the

Implementation Force The Implementation Force (IFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peace enforcement force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename ''Operation Joint Endeavour''. Background NATO ...

and

Stabilization Force The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. I ...

, and other peacekeeping efforts in the country.

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

joined the

Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; french: Partenariat pour la paix) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; ...

program of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in 2006, and signed an agreement on security cooperation in March 2007. The nation began further cooperation with NATO under their Individual Partnership Action Plan in January 2008. Bosnia then started the process of Intensified Dialogue at the

2008 Bucharest summit The 2008 Bucharest Summit or the 20th NATO Summit was a NATO summit organized in the Palace of the Parliament, Bucharest, Romania on 2 – 4 April 2008.

. The country was invited to join the Adriatic Charter of NATO aspirants on 25 September 2008. Then in November 2008, a joint announcement from the Defence Minister and the NATO Mission Office in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

suggested that Bosnia and Herzegovina could join NATO by 2011 if the defense reforms made until then were continued. In January 2009, Defence Minister

Selmo Cikotić Selmo Cikotić (born 25 January 1964) is a Bosnian politician serving as Minister of Security since 2020. He was also the Minister of Defence from 2007 to 2012. He is a member of the Party of Democratic Action. Cikotić's career in the army span ...

again confirmed Bosnia's interest in seeking a

Membership Action Plan NATO is a military alliance of twenty-eight European and two North American countries that constitutes a system of collective defense. The process of joining the alliance is governed by Article 10 of the North Atlantic Treaty, which allows ...

(MAP) at the 2009 summit, with membership by 2012 at the latest. In February 2009 Defence Minister Selmo Cikotić presented poll numbers on NATO membership: 70% of the country supports NATO membership; however while 89% of the Federation Entity supports NATO membership, only 44% in the RS Entity did. While the country did not receive a MAP at the April 2009 summit in Strasbourg–Kehl, Stuart Jones, an official of the US State Department, said on a September 2009 visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina that NATO was going to look at the possibilities for them to receive one in a December 2009 summit, repeating strong US support for the possibility. Then on 2 October 2009, Haris Silajdžić, the Bosniak Member of the Presidency, announced an official application for a MAP. On 22 April 2010, NATO agreed to launch the MAP for Bosnia and Herzegovina, but with certain conditions. Turkey is thought to be the biggest supporter of Bosnian membership. Bosnia and Herzegovina has yet to fulfil the condition to launch an Annual National Programme under its MAP: the transfer of the registration of 63 military facilities from the local level to the central government. As of November 2018, 33 have been fully transferred, all of which are located in the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...

. The

Republika Srpska Republika Srpska ( sr-Cyrl, Република Српска, lit=Serb Republic, also known as Republic of Srpska, ) is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Feder ...

(RS), the Serbian political subdivision of Bosnia, opposes the move and refuses to transfer the 23 properties located in its territory. A Bosnian court has ruled that it must transfer the military facility in

Han Pijesak Han Pijesak ( sr-cyrl, Хан Пијесак) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 3,530 inhabitants, while the town of Han Pijesak has a population of 2,0 ...

in RS to the Bosnian government. This was upheld by a ruling of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 16 August 2017. Despite the fact that all immovable property is not fully registered, NATO approved the activation of the Membership Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and called on Bosnia to submit an Annual National Program on 5 December 2018. On 17 December,

United States Deputy Secretary of State The deputy secretary of state of the United States is the principal deputy to the United States Secretary of State, secretary of state. The current deputy secretary of state is Wendy Ruth Sherman, serving since April 2021 under United States Secre ...

John Sullivan stated the United States supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's bid to join NATO, and dismissed Serb objections by adding that "Washington would react strongly to any threat to the stability of the country". The submission of a MAP Annual National Program was delayed due to a veto by Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of the Bosnian Presidency. The issue also prevented the formation of a government following the

2018 Bosnian general election General elections were held in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 7 October 2018. They decided the makeup of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Presidency as well as national, entity, and cantonal governments. Voter turnout was 54%. The elections for the House of ...

. On 19 November 2019, as part of a broader deal on government formation, Dodik agreed to a Reform Program which would be sent to Brussels. However, there is disagreement on whether this Reform Program is actually an Annual National Program under NATO.

Timeline of relations

Bosnia and Herzegovina's foreign relations with NATO member states

Notes

References

External links