Slovenia to Block Croatia’s EU Bid

Ljubljana | 17 December 2008 |

Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor

Slovenia will veto new talks for Croatia to join the European Union because of a long-standing border dispute between the two countries, Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor says.

"Slovenia has reservations concerning seven (EU accession) chapters, since the documents presented by Croatia could prejudge the common border," Pahor told journalists after meeting the heads of all parliamentary parties, who agreed to the veto.

"And concerning another four chapters we also have substantial reservations," he said ahead of an EU Intergovernmental conference in Brussels on Friday, where Croatia was hoping to open 10 new negotiating chapters in view of joining the European Union.

Zagreb, which began talks to join the 27-member bloc in October 2005, has opened 21 of the mandatory 35 policy negotiating chapters required for membership.

Zagreb had hoped to open 10 more negotiating 'chapters' with Brussels and close five on December 19. This requires the approval of all 27 member states and is vital for the success of its plan to wind up the European Union talks by the end of 2009.

Slovenia, warned that documents and maps among the papers Croatia submitted to the European Commission were prejudicial in the territorial dispute, and threatened to allow Zagreb to open and close only a few chapters.

The two former Yugoslav republics have been unable to agree on a sliver of land and Adriatic Sea border since they jointly proclaimed independence from socialist Yugoslavia in 1991. Slovenia joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.

France, keen to push Croatia forward during its current EU presidency, had proposed a compromise whereby Zagreb would sign a document saying it was in no way trying to enforce any border solution in its EU talks.

Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader last week however indicated he was not very optimistic.

Diplomats say Croatia's EU bid is also weighed down by slow reforms of the judiciary, public administration and economy and the lack of concrete results in the fight against corruption and crime.

Some member states are also concerned about Zagreb's cooperation with the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.

But they warned the row with Ljubljana was the most imminent danger and had wider implications for the rest of the Balkans, one of Europe's poorest regions which also has EU ambitions but is way behind Zagreb in the process.

Read more:
Croatia, Slovenia ‘Close to Resolving Disputes’
Croatia, Slovenia Presidents Bid to Mend Ties
Slovenia Denies Blocking Croatia’s EU Bid

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Comments:

HYPOCRITES
2008-12-17 17:34:13

hypocrites! you joined 'w' to beg and plead for fyrom's nato entry and now this... silly, little statelet!

polako, but keep on talking, as results will follow.
2008-12-17 19:01:41

In any common political process there is the factor compromise, and even sometimes a little bit of extra time. As long as all parties go for the same goal, that goal will be reached. This may be the Balkan, but it's Europe as well. Welcome Croatia !!!

Slovenia?
2008-12-17 21:39:49

Isnt it Slovenia who tolk Greece that should not block FYROM's entry to EU and NATO because the dispute between the 2 countries is a "bilateral issue"? What a hypocrites! US puppets at action!

Croatia in EU
2008-12-17 23:03:22

nedcro, aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself? Even if Slovenia somehow changes it's mind, there is still that law suit that Serbia is in the process of. All disputes with your neighbours have to be sorted out before you can join EU. That means ALL. Perhaps Croatia should've never started a law suit against Serbia. Slovenia will keep blocking until border issue sorted. That could take forever. Long way to go to EU.

@ Peggy
2008-12-18 00:38:52

Agree with you.... the issue though is with Slovenia's double standards

Croatia No to EU
2008-12-18 02:05:51

Croatia does not deserve to join the Rich Club or the West (EU) unless it abides by all the rules set out by the EU. Croatia is failing to follow ahead with reforms, it is getting worse these days and its concerning that Croatia may not join the EU for a long time. This corruption, organised crime and other problematic things is endangering Croatia's chances to join the EU. I would not be surprised if Croatia does not join the EU for another 10 years.

hyp, hyp, hurray
2008-12-18 02:35:52

throw slovenia out, bring croatia in, really long coast and beautiful too! slovenia is the fyrom of the old hapsburg mitteleuropa... freakin' hypocrites

2008-12-18 03:55:38

I've heard somewhere that EU was something without borders......what are they talking about.....borders????? Oh, the Slovenians have learned a great deal from Greece....the only way to push your agenda is through blackmail, intimidation, veto.....nice......all the best for this....EU

Slovenia - the irritating little neighbour
2008-12-18 09:19:51

I suspect the other, far more influential, EU-nations are getting pretty sick and tired of the new obstinate little child called Slovenia in their club. Croatia is simply a far more important country and this is difficult for Slovenia to accept. Long way to go to escape that feeling of being small and unimportant.

Curiouser and curiouser...
2008-12-18 22:02:14

Do you people know the historical background to this "obstinate little child", did you revise your history lesson before you came here to rant? Do you really know what this is about? I mean "really" know, objective facts, not just in some 3-4 sentences you just read, or just one side of the story? Do you think Slovenia is the one having an "agenda" here? Also, while at it, any idea whose territory was dealt with after the WW2 and "sacrificed" and who gained from that "bargain"? This child is so little now also because of gluttony of others, and someone's attempting to eat away even more of it. So much for Europe of equal opportunities and rights it is then.

Blind accusations
2008-12-19 10:56:40

Croatia obviously fails on neighbour relations. It deserved what happened. And apperently croatians dont even understand why. Yes, it is croatias right to make an EEZ as stated by law. But please do not forget it also states that EEZ should be made by all parties interested not by only one. But then this would not be in best interest of croatia so why do it? (how apperently croatia thinks) It is croatia that lacks foreign relations and even if the move was not against law it was against good foreign relations and thus it failed on EU chapters.

Cheat
2008-12-19 17:46:36

Croatia agreed for procceding on internationall judge, but Slovenia repel, because they requestuing: "we don't want for Croatia to use on internationall judge."

2008-12-19 18:08:57

Probably a good thing, as most Croats don't even want to join the EU... Croatia should steer clear of tools of international socialism like the EU and UN, and stand strong as a solid Catholic country, with Catholic values, not EU and UN ones...

Catholic Croatia
2008-12-19 23:24:21

Anita, in this day and age no country should be governed by their religion. That was in the days of Spanish Inquisition. There are other religions in Croatia beside Catholic so please be a little more respectful of them. It is thinking like yours which is going to bring Croatia down as Europe is bigger than any religion. Do practice your religion at home but it has no place in government.

Veto for documents
2008-12-19 23:36:18

False maps, crime, bombs, rambo stile... Croatia may wait for another 10 years, it is quite OK.

Catholic Croatia
2008-12-20 16:11:47

I agree with Anita....when she says that Croatia should stick to its Catholic culture, traditions and value.....Croatia is a conservative and center-right country like the United States I am, like many Croats, against the promotion of socially liberal and leftist ideas in my country.....something which the EU would definetly do under the pretence of 'human rights' or God knows what..... Having said that, I acknowledge what Peggy is saying about Church and State staying separate. For the most part I think this should be the case, but I do not want the EU attempting to change the culture of Croatia. And Peggy, your fully right, there minority religions in Croatia, Orthodox Christians and Islam to be specific, and this should always be fully respected.

2008-12-20 16:52:41

Peggy, Croatia will never be truly secular, as Catholicism is very important to Croatia's cultural heritage, and the vast majority of Croats... Croatia should learn from the terrible examples in other European countries, that now rely on "humanist" values more than Christian ones, that social problems with non-Christian immigrant populations (especially Muslims) - as a result of secular and "humanist" EU and UN policies - is a consequence of doing so...

2008-12-21 00:38:31

1. Croatia did not 'prejudge' the border issue. Both countries declared independence on June 25, 1991 and recognized each other immediately in their respective borders. After the initial 'celebratory' feelings wore off, the Slovenes realized that by exiting Yugoslavia they were left with no direct access to the open sea because their republic had too short a coastline to be granted this access by the international conventions. Ever since then, they have been trying to twist the Croats to relinquish the 'Piran bay' so that they could achieve this goal. They have been doing this in various ways. Last year, Croatia declared a maritime economic zone (according with the appropriate UN conventions), Slovenia, a member of EU, cried wolf with the Brussels so that eventually Croatia, which is the negotiations with the EU suspended its sovereignty for the EU member states (Italy and Slovenia). As soon as this was done Slovenia declared its own maritime economic zone which reaches deep into Croatian territorial waters. Slovenia has absolutely no right to do this according to the international conventions. The EU stood by and said nothing. The French (currently presiding over the EU) drafted a document in which Croatia confirmed that it was not prejudging the border issue; Slovenia rejected this proposal!! 2. The Ljubljanska Banka closed all its offices in all former Yugoslav republics in 1991. Croats, Bosnians, and Serbs lost their savings, Croats alone lost 800 billion euros. This is private property which Slovenia refuses to return and is thus one of the biggest robberies of the century. EU still does nothing about it. 3. Slovenia is criticized repeatedly by the EU for the violation of human rights; they 'wiped off' 18500 citizens because they were not Slovenian by birth, they stigmatize the Roma and Muslim population. No musk is allowed to be built in Ljubljana.

why don't croats agree?
2008-12-21 12:54:39

just to make one thing clear - slovenia did not set out to force the border issue with croatia. slovenia simply said - maps that you're using on those chapters, are not correct and we do not agree with them and we're still in talks about them. so please sign the paper saying that you will not use these maps as a proof of where the borders are in any future negotiations. that is a BIG difference. slovenia is not forcing croatia to agree on where the borders are as part of this joining eu process. they just want croats to admit that these are still opened disputes. why don't croats agree to that? i mean - if their claim is a real one, they must have zillions of other documents to prove their point. but no, they fail in many other categories under which they could join eu and think that it's easier to blaim slovenia for their failure than look themselves in the mirror and fix their corruption, crime etc.

My $0.02
2008-12-21 21:36:08

As an Albanian living in the US for the better part of my life and a grad student in Balkan politics, I can say that the first country out of any and all candidates that deserves a chair in the EU is indeed Croatia. But I can also say with a fair sense of confidence that no new members of the EU will come from the Balkan for a while. The EU is having a lot of issues right now with current east european members dealing with corruption that it cannot affort to let in others. This is just my opinion anyways, maybe it's wrong but I wish good luck to Croatia, they are truly an economy powerhouse for the Balkans!

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Slovenia to Block Croatia’s EU Bid