After a long-running feud, Slovenia will no longer stand in the way of Croatia’s accession negotiations with the European Union, the leaders of the two nations said after agreeing to reset a long-standing border dispute. “We will immediately propose to end restraints of Croatia’s EU accession negotiating process,” Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said after meeting his counterpart from Croatia, Jadranka Kosor. “We opened a new chapter in relations and proved that friendly relations and respect can lead to resolution of problems,” Kosor said. Pahor and Kosor did not elaborate on details of the agreement they made on the border in the northern Adriatic bay of Piran, the cause of the row between the two nations since their break from Yugoslavia in 1991. The row reach a peak last year when Slovenia blocked Croatia’s EU accession talks.
Slovenia is now set to lift a veto on Croatia’s approach to the EU, while Croatia is to give up territorial claims it made in the dispute over Piran, effectively returning negotiations to square one. Unconfirmed reports quoting sources from both countries said the bay would be jointly administered over 20 or 50 years, providing enough time for a settlement. Slovenia, the northernmost and most developed of the former Yugoslav republics joined the EU in 2004, while Croatia hopes to become a member in 2011.
A spokesman for the European Commission said shortly after the announcement in Ljubljana that Brussels wanted to hear more details before taking a position. “We’re expecting first-hand information from the talks,” the spokesman said. “The EU was not a part of the talks, only supported them. We must now see what the agreement looks like. Sweden, holder of the rotating presidency of the European Union, welcomed the announcement that Croatia and Slovenia had agreed to resolve a long-standing border dispute that has blocked Croatia’s accession talks with the bloc. Kosor and Pahor “have shown European leadership in breaking a difficult deadlock,” Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a statement. Reinfeldt said the agreement would help “promote regional stability and serves as a model for the Western Balkans as a whole.”
“Croatia’s accession is in the interest not only of Croatia itself and of Slovenia, but of the neighbouring region as well, and of the entire EU,” the Swedish premier said.
Signs of an imminent breakthrough were reported on the sidelines of an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Stockholm last week. The border dispute in the northern Adriatic bay of Piran dates back to 1991 and the breakup of Yugoslavia. Reinfeldt said he was “convinced” Zagreb would forge ahead with its “efforts on reforms and other issues in order to meet all outstanding conditions for membership. There was no indication whether the temporary settlement of the differences between the two countries would accelerate Croatia’s hopes for EU accession and no timetable has been set, although EU leaders have given encouraging remarks about the possibility.