European Union officials have urged Slovenia and Croatia to quickly resolve their border dispute, warning that the row could also slow down the EU membership bids of other Balkan nations as well, but Slovenia isn’t budging so far. “A lot of politicians in Europe tend to put the whole of the Balkans in one basket,” said Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. The feud between EU member Slovenia and aspiring member Croatia “clearly does not help anybody,” said Schwarzenberg, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

Albania Prime Minister Sali Berisha submitted his country’s application for membership to the European Union last week as he went to Prague. Other Western Balkan nations eager to join the prosperous 27-member bloc include Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, whose government will take over the EU presidency from the Czechs in July, said “a number of outstanding border issues in the Balkans could be made into major problems.” He added that, “It’s very important that everyone in the Balkans be made aware that these things have no place in accession negotiations.”

Slovenia, which joined the EU in 2004, is resisting EU pressure to give immediate backing to a plan aimed at easing Croatia’s EU membership path because of disagreements over the two neighbours’ maritime border. EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn proposed what he called a “carefully crafted” and “balanced” compromise. This would see the two countries nominate five judges tasked with solving the problem.