Slovenia Could Unblock Croatia EU Talks

`Now is the time to solve the border issue and bring Croatia into the European Union`, he said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Slovenia could unblock Croatia's EU accession talks within a few weeks if there is agreement on mediation suggested by Brussels to solve a border dispute, Slovenia's foreign minister said on Sunday. Diplomats say that unless the dispute is resolved quickly, Croatia may fail in its goal to complete European Union entry talks this year and join the 27-nation bloc in 2011.

"We all want Croatia to finish negotiations at the end of 2009 ... that would also mean that Croatia has to negotiate during that time," Samuel Zbogar told Reuters in an interview.

"Now is the time to solve the border issue and bring Croatia into the European Union," he said ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

EU member Slovenia has for the last few months vetoed the opening and conclusion of a number of areas in neighbouring Croatia's entry talks over the 17-year-old dispute which involves a few slivers of land and a stretch of sea border on the northern Adriatic.

Zbogar said his country believed going to an international tribunal would take too long and that a lack of trust prevented progress in direct bilateral talks.

"Probably (the)...help of a third party to mediate ... would be helpful, maybe the only way to find a way out of this deadlock," he said.

The European Commission has asked Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari, former Finnish president and veteran diplomat, to chair a group that would mediate in the conflict, a European Commission spokeswoman said on Friday.

"This is probably the way we will go," Zbogar said, while stressing that his country had not yet given its green light and that many elements still needed to be agreed.

"First we have to agree on all the terms of reference on how this (mediation) commission will work, under what conditions and how we would agree (for Croatia's EU) talks to continue," he said.

"All this package should happen in the next few weeks."

Slovenia has been criticised by some in the European Union for blocking parts of Croatia's EU accession talks over the dispute that dates from the countries' 1991 independence. Zbogar said his country was not to blame.

"We don't feel we are a bad guy ... we have to protect the vital interests that are involved," he said, saying that Croatia had a large sea border whereas Slovenia's was very small.

Slovenia blocked Zagreb in the EU talks, saying documents Croatia used in negotiations were prejudicial to the border dispute. It wants legally binding assurances from Croatia that these documents will not be used to solve the border issue.

Croatia wants the dispute settled before the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Zbogar said his country was working on helping Balkan countries join the EU. He urged the bloc to send positive signals, including easier access to visas for their citizens to travel to the 27-nation club.

Zbogar, a career diplomat, is part of the new centre-left government approved by Slovenia's parliament at the end of November.