Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly has paid a working visit to Montenegro awaiting the upcoming Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA) which will be held in the period from 27 to 30 May 2016 in Tirana, the Republic of Albania, and in which delegations of both countries will participate.

Deputy Chairperson of the Security and Defence Committee Ms Snežana Jonica, and the Committee members: Mr Obrad Mišo Stanišić, Mr Luiđ Ljubo Škrelja, and Mr Darko Pajović took part in the meeting, while  Delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly consisted of Head of Delegation Mr Nikola Lovrinović and member Asim Sarajlić.

In their introductory address, members of the Security and Defence Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro voiced their pleasure over the initiative of the guest delegation, convinced that the exchange of experiences on the status of Euro-Atlantic integration in the Western Balkans region would result in benefits for both parliaments.

Ms Snežana Jonica presented the view of her political party, emphasising that the Socialist People’s Party (SNP) insisted that the decision on Montenegro’s membership to the NATO Alliance must be made by the citizens in a referendum. Furthermore, she reiterated the fact that the SNP was against Montenegro’s accession to the NATO, believing that such view was held by a majority of citizens of Montenegro.

Awaiting the upcoming Spring Session of the NATO PA, members of Montenegrin Parliament discussed the current status of Montenegro in the process of Euro-Atlantic integration. They reminded that, at the meeting of 2 December 2015, ministers of foreign affairs of NATO member states had unanimously reached a decision that an invitation to become a full-fledged member of the Alliance should be extended to Montenegro, emphasising that Montenegro’s efforts provided concrete results which were valorised by the sending of the invitation. It was emphasised that after nearly ten years of partnership between NATO and Montenegro, and close cooperation with this military alliance, by signing the Protocol on Montenegro’s Accession to the NATO Alliance on 19 May of this year, which represents a legal basis for NATO to formally invite Montenegro to join the Agreement, our country has made the final step towards membership and showed the members of the Alliance that it is a credible partner and that its membership in the Alliance will mean a step towards greater stability of the region in which Montenegro plays an important role.

The guests welcomed the signing of the Accession Protocol estimating that the admission of Montenegro to the NATO confirmed that the doors of the Alliance remained open.

It was jointly estimated that the accession process was a challenge requiring continuation of reforms in all fields, and in that sense it was stressed that Montenegro will continue to strongly support Bosnia and Herzegovina on its European and Euro-Atlantic path in the upcoming period as well.