While the sending Annual National Programme (ANP) would represent the next step in Bosnia’s NATO accession process, the 'Reform Programme' which Bosnia is sending does not predict membership in the alliance and does not contain certain reforms which would go against the interests of Bosnia’s Serb-majority part, Deputy House of Representatives Speaker Nebojsa Radmanovic said on Thursday.

“The ANP represented 165 pages of reforms dedicated primarily to the steps for joining NATO, which we opposed, as well as security (reforms), such as police reform and a number of other things,” Radmanovic told RTRS.

The statement came as a response to criticism coming from opposition parties in the Serb-majority region of Republika Srpska (RS), which have accused Bosnian Serb leadership of going against Serb interests by agreeing to send the ANP to NATO in order to secure power at the state level.

NATO is unpopular among most Bosnian Serbs. Republika Srpska has, in 2017, adopted a Declaration on Military Neutrality. It means the semi-autonomous entity is opposed to being part of any military alliances.

Radmanovic said that Bosnian Serb opposition parties only now complain about the ANP when they need to leave the government and that they did not complain about it while their members were serving in the Council of Ministers.

“It is logical that if it says that NATO membership is not predicted, then the Membership Action Plan (MAP) is not predicted. The MAP is not mentioned anywhere in the Reform Programme and this is where Republika Srpska’s position on military neutrality was met,” he said.