Eurasia Press & News
Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor said on Monday that the statement by his Croatian counterpart Ivo Sanader that Croatia would not accept Slovenia’s amendments to the proposal by the EU’s enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn, on solving the border dispute between the two countries, was not stimulating.
During a pause of an extraordinary government session at which members of the Sloveniangovernment were deciding about amendments to the new budget, Pahor said Sanader’s statement is not stimulating, but at the same time, he does not want to exclude the possibility of a deal being reached on the border issue using the initiative of the European Commission.
– If Croatia withdraws its contentious documents, then Slovenia will have no reason to hold back Croatia’s accession negotiations with the European Union. Slovenia wants the border issue to be resolved, but that is connected with the attempt of the European Commission to mediate in the dispute – the Slovenian prime minister said.
Croatia is not accepting the amendments
Pahor said that with its amendments to Rehn’s proposal on solving the border dispute and lifting the block off of Croatia’s accession negotiations with the EU had responded to the proposal rationally and on time.
– Our amendments are serious. Slovenia did not bring the bilateral border issue into Croatia’s negotiations, but rather, Croatia did so by submitting contentious documents which prejudge the border. We were obligated to protect our interests – Pahor told a news conference.
Croatia will not accept any amendments and updates of the latest proposal presented by European Union expansion commissioner Olli Rehn in resolving the Croatian-Slovene border dispute, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and Foreign Affairs Minister Gordan Jandrokovic said on Monday.
