Stoltenberg says Bosnia set for ‘new move’ on NATO membership path

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that Bosnia-Herzegovina is likely to get a green light this week to take a major step on the path toward future membership in the military alliance. Foreign ministers from NATO member states are expected Wednesday to invite Bosnia to submit its first reform action plan, part of the alliance’s Membership Action Plan, or MAP process, which helps prepare countries for accession, AP said. Although the Balkan country is unlikely to join soon, Stoltenberg said that he expects the ministers to signal on Wednesday that “we are ready to receive” the first annual national program. “Then it’s up to Bosnia-Herzegovina to decide whether they use this opportunity,” he noted. NATO offered a MAP to Bosnia in 2010 but declined to “activate” it until all conditions had been met.