ZAGREB, Croatia
Croatia could join the EU no earlier than 2012, European Parliament (EP) rapporteur for Croatia, Hannes Swoboda, told the Vienna-based newspaper Die Presse on Tuesday (June 2nd). He added that this assumes the maritime border row with Slovenia is resolved soon. Slovenia has been blocking the opening and closing of new chapters in Zagreb’s negotiations since December, due to the long-standing border dispute.
In other news Tuesday, Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader visited New York, where he briefed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on the border row and urged Ljubljana to stop blocking Zagreb’s accession talks. Ban refused to comment on the issue.