Slovene PM: I’ll Call Croatia PM and Meet with Him

The Slovenian prime minister assessed as positive the European Commission’s initiative on solving border issues.

Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said on Tuesday that Slovenia assessed in principle that the initiative of the European Commission on solving the border dispute with Croatia was positive and that he would soon call his Croatian counterpart, Ivo Sanader, to arrange for a meeting. 

- It is with moderate optimism that we are monitoring the attempts of the European Commission to solve the border issue between Croatia and Slovenia through mediation. If this initiative is formalised and officially presented to both sides, and if both sides accept it, then we could use this year to solve the issue that has been burdening up for 17 years – Pahor told reporters on Tuesday.

He added that it was still premature to say what the decision of the Slovenian government will be regarding the initiative of the European Commission, stressing that it defended on the Croatian side, but that he felt the initiative was in the right direction.

- In the next couple of days I intend to have a telephone conversation with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and arrange a meeting that would be important for progress in finding a solution – Pahor said.

The Slovenian prime minister reiterated that Slovenia would not unblock Croatia’s accession negotiations with the EU until “circumstances change”, adding that Slovenia decided on the blockade because of its vital national interests.