"Slovenia won't drop demands" PM insists

Slovenia’s decision to block further Croatian EU talks was just and Slovenia will not drop its demands, says Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor. Ahead of a meeting today with party representatives, Pahor told Slovenian state radio that no decisions would be taken at today’s meeting, and that it would focus purely on discussing mediation proposals in the border dispute with Croatia submitted by the European Commission (EC). "Slovenia won't drop demands" PM insists At its regular cabinet meeting last Thursday, the Slovenian government gave its approval to the EC’s proposal, while Croatia has yet to decide on the issue of mediation, something that Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar said that he could understand, stating that “it’s not a straightforward decision and if they need more time, they should take it so that they can come to a common position.“ The Slovenian prime minister said that opinions would be exchanged at today’s meeting, though he stressed that Slovenia had taken the right decision in December when it blocked further accession talks between Croatia and the EU. Had it not done so, he said, things would have politically "ignited" in Slovenia, and "that would have frayed relations still further with our neighbors.“ Although relations with Croatia have once again been aggravated, Pahor is convinced that the two countries will find a solution to the problem, and that the team of mediators nominated by the European Commission will come up with a proposal for land and sea borders that will be acceptable to both sides. The Slovenian political scene has been further shaken in recent days by the proposal of former Parliamentary Speaker Franc Bucar, who suggested that the disputed border at Istra should be settled by means of a referendum, whereby the local inhabitants would themselves decide whether they wished to live in Croatia or Slovenia. Borut Pahor (FoNet, archive)

"Slovenia won't drop demands" PM insists

At its regular cabinet meeting last Thursday, the Slovenian government gave its approval to the EC’s proposal, while Croatia has yet to decide on the issue of mediation, something that Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Žbogar said that he could understand, stating that “it’s not a straightforward decision and if they need more time, they should take it so that they can come to a common position.“

The Slovenian prime minister said that opinions would be exchanged at today’s meeting, though he stressed that Slovenia had taken the right decision in December when it blocked further accession talks between Croatia and the EU. Had it not done so, he said, things would have politically "ignited" in Slovenia, and "that would have frayed relations still further with our neighbors.“

Although relations with Croatia have once again been aggravated, Pahor is convinced that the two countries will find a solution to the problem, and that the team of mediators nominated by the European Commission will come up with a proposal for land and sea borders that will be acceptable to both sides.

The Slovenian political scene has been further shaken in recent days by the proposal of former Parliamentary Speaker Franc Bučar, who suggested that the disputed border at Istra should be settled by means of a referendum, whereby the local inhabitants would themselves decide whether they wished to live in Croatia or Slovenia.