To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects Bosnia-Herzegovina to be ready to be invited to participate in the NATO Membership Action Plan; and what his policy is on such membership. (311600)

The UK fully supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's aspiration to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and continues to provide active support to help achieve that aim. In December NATO Foreign Ministers agreed Bosnia and Herzegovina would join the Membership Action Plan (MAP) once it has achieved the necessary progress on reform. The next formal review of Bosnia and Herzegovina's progress will be in spring this year.

MAP is an important tool in assisting countries to prepare for NATO membership. For a country to fully benefit from this tool it must have robust and functional political structures in place to take forward the comprehensive process and implement the wide spectrum of democratic and defence reforms required for membership.