PM Pahor Seeks Delay for Accession Conference

The delay would give time to change the circumstances because of which we expressed reservations about the accession process, says Pahor.

The Slovenian premier Borut Pahor proposed on Sunday in Brussels, in a conversation with his Czech colleague Mirek Topolanek, that the inter-governmental conference on Croatia’s accession scheduled for March 27 be delayed until April or May. This would give more time to change the circumstances that led to the Slovenian veto on the opening and closing of multiple negotiating chapters.

Leading up to the emergency EU Summit held on Sunday in Brussels, Pahor spoke with the premiers of the Czech Republic, Sweden and Hungary.

Slovenia wants the circumstances that led to the holdup to change

In his conversation with the Swedish premier Fredrik Reinfeldt, Pahor said that he met with him in light of the fact that Sweden will preside the EU in the second half of this year, at an important moment in the negotiations with Croatia.

“Slovenia wants the circumstances that led to the holdup to change, and we welcome the initiative by the European Commission on mediation. I said this to my Swedish colleague and understood that the Swedes, who are inclined to further EU expansion, firstly Croatia, expect that the mediation will be successful, and that Croatia will be able to continue the negotiations” said Pahor.