Prošle sedmice sam se vratio iz sjedišta NATO-a u Briselu. U januaru je Ujedinjeno Kraljevstvo preuzelo od Turske ulogu NATO ambasade ovdje u Sarajevu pa sam išao da se upoznam sa prioritetima i izazovima NATO-a u našem svijetu koji se brzo mijenja i sve je kompleksniji.

Pred NATO-om je veliki zadatak re-konfiguracije kako bi odgovorio agresivnoj, ekspanzionističkoj Rusiji na istoku, te prijetnji od islamskog ekstremizma na jugu. Ali, ono što me se najviše dojmilo je da NATO još uvijek ima u vidu Balkan.

Prema ovom regionu postoji puno dobre volje i svi žele vidjeti Bosnu i Hercegovinu i njene susjede u Savezu. NATO ovaj region, i njegovu trajnu stabilnost, vidi kao nedovršen posao. A nije teško vidjeti zašto je to tako.Samo pogledajte kartu. NATO saveznici su na sjeveru, jugu, istoku i zapadu. Ali, u samom srcu Evrope postoji rupa. Bosna i Hercegovina je evropska zemlja i mjesto joj je u evropskom savezu.

Last week I got back from NATO Headquarters in Brussels. In January, the UK took over from Turkey as the lead NATO Embassy here in Sarajevo, so I went to learn about NATO’s priorities and challenges in our fast-changing and increasingly complex world.

There’s a lot on NATO’s plate as it configures itself to respond to an aggressive and expansionist Russia in the east, and to the threat from Islamic extremism in the south. But one thing that struck me is that NATO still has time for the Balkans.

There’s an awful lot of goodwill towards this region, and everyone wants to see Bosnia and Herzegovina and its neighbours inside the Alliance. NATO views this region, and its enduring stability, as unfinished business. And it’s not hard to see why. Look at the map. There are NATO Allies to the north, south, east and west. But there is a hole in the heart of Europe. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a European country, and it belongs in the European alliance.

Znam da svi u ovoj zemlji još uvijek nisu u potpunosti uvjereni da se treba priključiti NATO-u. Da, postoji prošlost. Ali, ako ste spremni da se okrenete ka budućnosti umjesto ka prošlosti, onda je razlog za NATO jasan i primamljiv. Ja to ovako vidim:

• NATO = sigurnost. NATO je najmoćniji i najuspješniji savez u istoriji svijeta. On je krajnji garant sigurnosti jedne zemlje. Kada pristupe NATO-u, zemlje polažu svečanu zakletvu da će svaki napad na neku savezničku zemlju smatrati napadom na sve njih te da će pomoći svom savezniku sa svim neophodnim sredstvima. NATO smatra da su granice nepovredive što je za zemlju sa istorijom kakva je bosanskohercegovačka garancija kakvu vrijedi imati.

• Sigurnost = stabilnost. Nakon što osigura svoju sigurnost u budućnosti putem NATO-a, zemlja se može usredočiti na svoju dugoročnu političku i ekonomsku stabilnost bez brige o tome šta se dešava izvan njenih granica. A tokom poplava prošle godine smo vidjeli da vaše Oružane snage već mogu djelovati u pružanju pomoći tokom unutrašnje krize. NATO može ponuditi ekspertizu kojom će ih učiniti još boljim kako bi djelovali kao moderna i učinkovita snaga za stabilnost.

• Stabilnost = prosperitet. Investitori žele stabilnost. Dugi niz godina, BiH vanjskom svijetu šalje sliku nestabilne i podjeljene države. Nema boljeg signala za potencijalne investitore u ovu zemlju od napretka na putu ka NATO i EU.

I know that not everyone in this country is yet fully convinced about joining NATO. Yes, there is history. But if you are prepared to look to the future rather than to the past, then the case for NATO is simple and compelling. I see it like this:

• NATO = Security. NATO is the most powerful and most successful Alliance in the history of the world. It is the ultimate guarantee of a country’s security. When they join NATO, nations make a solemn pledge that an attack on one ally will be treated as an attack on them all, and that they will come to the aid of their ally with all necessary means. NATO means that borders are inviolable, and for a country with a history like that of Bosnia and Herzegovina, that is a guarantee worth having.

• Security = Stability. Once a country has guaranteed its future security through NATO, it can focus on its long-term political and economic stability without having to worry about what goes on outside its borders. And we saw last year in the floods the role that your Armed Forces can already play in helping to deal with domestic crises. NATO can offer expertise to make them even better so that they can act as a modern and effective force for stability.

• Stability = Prosperity. Investors want stability. For many years, BiH has projected an image to the outside world of being unstable and divided. There would be no better signal towards potential investors in this country than progress along the path towards NATO and the EU.

U regionu, Hrvatska, Slovenija i Albanija su već NATO saveznici. A druge zemlje se takođe približavaju NATO-u, uključujući i one koje su, poput dijelova Bosne i Hercegovine, doživjele NATO bombardovanje u proteklih 20 godina. Crna Gora je blizu ulaska u NATO. Saradnja Srbije i NATO je sve veća. Srbijanski ministar odbrane je prisustvovao prošlogodišnjem NATO samitu u Velsu, a u januaru je Srbija usvojila individualni akcioni plan partnerstva sa NATO – prvi zvanični korak na putu ka članstvu u Savez.

Elsewhere in the region, Croatia, Slovenia and Albania are already NATO Allies. But other countries are also moving closer to NATO, including those which, like parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, have experienced NATO bombing in the past 20 years. Montenegro is close to joining the Alliance. And cooperation between Serbia and NATO is also growing. The Serbian Defence Minister attended last year’s NATO Summit in Wales, and in January Serbia agreed an Individual Partnership Action Plan – the first formal step on the path towards membership of the Alliance.

Isto kao što je slučaj sa EU, Bosna i Hercegovina rizikuje da zaostane za svojim susjedima. Ali, ne mora biti tako. Napredak se može vrlo brzo ostvariti. Vladajuće koalicije na nivou države i Federacije su se već dogovorile da najzad provedu odluku Ustavnog suda i vojnu imovinu zvanično registruju na državu. Ako se ovo ostvari, BiH će zauzvrat dobiti Akcioni plan za članstvo u NATO (MAP) – sljedeći korak za punopravno članstvo u Savez. MAP nije garancija za buduće članstvo ali bi bio sjajan signal da zemlja ostvaruje napredak nakon dugogodišnje stagnacije. I to nije jedina prednost. Imovina koja nije potrebna Oružanim snagama bi se najzad mogla prodati kako bi se osigurala prijeko potrebna sredstva za ulaganje u škole, bolnice i puteve.

Tokom narednih mjeseci, širom zemlje ću zagovarati članstvo u NATO.[Očekujte me u aprilu u Bijeljini.] Ali, volio bih da ova nova energija i zalet koje smo postigli u procesu pristupanja EU pomognu da se odblokira napredak ka NATO-u. Tada bi Bosna i Hercegovina bila čvrsto na putu ka većoj sigurnosti, stabilnosti i prosperitetu, u korist svih građana BiH.

Just as with the EU, Bosnia and Herzegovina risks being left behind by its neighbours. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Progress could come very quickly. The governing coalitions at the State and Federation levels have already agreed finally to implement the ruling of the Constitutional Court and to carry out the formal registration of defence property to the State. If that happens, then BiH would get in return a NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) – the next step towards full membership of the Alliance. MAP doesn’t guarantee future membership, on either side, but it would be a fantastic signal that the country is moving forwards after years of stagnation. And there would be other benefits too. Property which is not needed by the Armed Forces could finally be sold off to generate much-needed money that could be used to improve schools, hospitals and roads.

Over the coming months, I’ll be making this case for NATO around the country. [Look out for me in Bijeljina in April.] But I would love to think that the new energy and momentum that we have succeeded in generating around the EU accession process could also help to unblock progress towards NATO. Then Bosnia and Herzegovina would be firmly on a path towards more security, stability and prosperity, for the benefit of all its citizens.