Croatian PM expects EC to respect fact that border row is bilateral issue

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic has said that the European Commission has no jurisdiction over arbitration proceedings for border issues and he expects his counterparts in the European Union member-states and the European Commission to respect the fact that the border issue is a bilateral problem which Croatia is willing to discuss with Slovenia.

During his tour of the town of Bakar near Rijeka on Wednesday, PM Plenkovic said that Croatia's position in connection with the arbitral award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration should be put into context.

"I want to remind you that the outstanding issues (with Slovenia) and Slovenia's blockade cost Croatia two extra years in the accession negotiation process with the EU at the end of the last

We lost five years in all in the process of accession to the EU, and I would ascribe three (lost) years to the context of cooperation with the (UN) Hague-based war crimes tribunal and two years on bilateral issues, Plenkovic said in his comment on the European Commission's latest position on the Croatia-Slovenia border demarcation.

Nobody from the European institutions has ever apologised to Croatia for obstructions it had met on its journey towards the EU due to bilateral issues that had nothing to do with the accession negotiation process, Plenkovic said.

The Croatian institutions, the parliament and the government as well as political parties are unanimous in the position (on this matter). It would be good for the European Commission to stay within its jurisdiction, and it has no authority over the arbitration process for border issues, the Croatian PM said.

European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said on Tuesday that the EC "takes good note of the decision of the Arbitration Tribunal and expects both parties to implement it," after the College of Commissioners held a discussion on the final award made on 29 June by the Arbitration Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration as regards maritime and land borders between Croatia and Slovenia.

Plenkovic recalls that there are countries that have been solving bilateral border issues for a hundred years. The Belgian Foreign Minister (Didier Reynders) recently stated that his country has been talking with the Netherlands about the border demarcation for years, and I haven't noticed that this topic has been on the agenda of the European Commission or the European Parliament, Plenkovic said.

Therefore I expect my counterparts in the European Union member-states and the European Commission to respect the fact that the border issue is a bilateral problem which Croatia is willing to discuss with Slovenia and seek solutions, Plenkovic said underscoring that the arbitration proceedings were contaminated and compromised by Slovenia's violations of international law.

I will meet with Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar in Ljubljana on 12 July. Our reactions are rational and commonsensical and we already stressed that we did not want any unilateral moves by either side. We will talk and seek solutions for this issue, he added.

Plenkovic said that Croatia's arguments had also been promoted in diplomatic circles and told the press that Croatia should not be concerned by the statement made at a news conference (in Strasbourg) after after the College of Commissioners.

"The statement had neither political nor legal importance," Plenkovic said.

Text: Hina

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