27 Oct. 2008
The North Atlantic Council (NAC) and the European Union’s Political and Security Committee (PSC) met at NATO Headquarters on 27 October to discuss the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In a joint press conference, both Mr Solana and Mr De Hoop Scheffer expressed concern about the political rhetoric coming out of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Such rhetoric is not conducive to furthering the country’s stated objective of closer integration with the European Union and NATO.
Discussions are underway on the possible evolution of the mandate of the EU-led force (EUFOR), which is supported by NATO under the so-called Berlin Plus arrangements. NATO is also working closely with the Bosnian authorities on defence reform issues through the country’s Individual Partnership Action Plan and through support provided by NATO Headquarters in Sarajevo.
Prior to the NAC-PSC meeting, EU High Representative Javier Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer met bilaterally to discuss other issues of common concern including Afghanistan, Kosovo, and anti-piracy operations off the coast of Somalia.
The EU High Representative and the NATO Secretary General both highlighted the substantive cooperation that is developing between the EU and NATO in theatres where both organizations are engaged.
“We continue to have a solid and fluent relationship in trying to see how we can stabilize parts of the world in which we are working together,” underlined Mr Solana.
