Croatia, Slovenia Feud Over Sausage Rights

The Croatian Ministry of Agriculture has filed a written objection against the proposed protection of Kranjska kolbasa that Slovenia submitted to the European Commission, according to the news website Net.hr.

In accordance with EU rules, any country can object to product protection proposals within six months of the publication of information of the submitted application.

Zagreb says that it aims to protect Croatian producers, who are estimated to export in excess of €10 million annually worth of Kranjska sausages. The former Yugoslav republics shared the same products in Yugoslavia’s wider market.

“The Croatian Chamber of Commerce and Croatian producers of Kranjska sausages have compiled all relevant historical evidence since 2010 to back up the objection and the Ministry of Agriculture will further strengthen the Croatian case,” the Croatian authorities said in a statement.

Sausage are not the only bone of contention between the two countries.

Zagreb and Ljubljana have long fought over border demarcation, which remains unresolved. The two countries have also clashed on a still unresolved dispute over money owed by a Slovenian bank to Croatian depositors dating back to before the 1991 breakup of Yugoslavia.

Croatia is set to join the European Union next July provided all EU members ratify its accession treaty, signed on 9 December 2011. So far Croatia and 11 EU countries have ratified the Treaty but Slovenia has not.