Milanovic, Jansa satisfied with memorandum signing

The memorandum of understanding solves the last outstanding issue between Croatia and Slovenia which was an obstacle to the ratification of Croatia's European Union accession treaty in Ljubljana, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in Mokrice on Monday, while Croatian PM Zoran Milanovic said this solution satisfied both sides.

After one-hour talks, they signed a memorandum of understanding between the two governments to resolve the Ljubljanska Banka issue within negotiations on succession to the former Yugoslavia, while the Slovenian parliament will immediately initiate the ratification of the accession treaty.
Speaking at a joint news conference, Jansa thanked everyone who had worked on finding a compromise and a solution in recent years.
"We have found such a solution. I'm glad the memorandum was signed today," he said. Like Milanovic, he did not speak of the memorandum's content since, as they said, it was already known to the public. Milanovic only added that the memorandum was "short and clear and much simpler than the (border) arbitration agreement, which is much more complex and detailed."
"Now we have a solution that satisfies both sides," Milanovic said at the press conference covered by Croatian, Slovenian and foreign reporters.
Under the memorandum, the Ljubljanska Banka issue will be handled within negotiations on succession to the former Yugoslavia under the auspices of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel; the Slovenian government will immediately launch in parliament the ratification of the Croatia-EU treaty; Croatia will ensure that the lawsuits filed by two Croatian banks are put on hold and that no new legal or other proceedings are taken with regard to the issue of transferred foreign-currency savings deposits.
The solution is such that it enables the Slovenian government to send to parliament already this week a bill on the ratification of the Croatian accession treaty. The parliament will begin proceedings as soon as it receives from the Croatian government all documents on the ratification of today's memorandum, said Jansa.
He voiced confidence that the Slovenian parliament would ratify the Croatian treaty by the end of this month.
"Slovenia is looking forward to cooperation with its friendly neighbour Croatia in the European Union," said Jansa.
Asked if, given the political situation in Slovenia, its parliament might be dissolved before ratifying the treaty, he said, "There's no such possibility either practically or theoretically."
Reporters asked what guarantees there were that Croatia would not launch the lawsuits again in two years. "The guarantee is this memorandum. It's a word that's been given and will be further verified in both countries' institutions," Jansa said, while Milanovic said the Croatian state and the Croatian government abided by their commitments.
Asked by a Slovenian reporter if Ljubljanska Banka would enter the Croatian market, Jansa said Croatia would join the EU on July 1 and become part of the single European market with rules on the free movement of capital, so European banking rules would apply to Croatia too.
Milanovic regretted that the Slovenian bank had not been on the Croatian market for 20 years "because it was a trustworthy bank... Had the problems been solved earlier, Ljubljanska Banka could have entered the Croatian market first and made billions."
Asked what were the guarantees that this issue would be solved in Basel, which has twice refused jurisdiction over Ljubljanska Banka, or that it would be solved within the succession negotiations, Milanovic said "there are no absolute guarantees."
"But there are guarantees of the maturity we are showing here. We will continue the talks within the succession framework. Those are bilateral talks... We believe we can solve the problem," he said.
"In terms of experience and common sense, there is every guarantee that the issue will be solved within a reasonable time to our mutual satisfaction," Milanovic said, adding that the Ljubljanska Banka issue would also be addressed at the European Court of Human Rights but not through a suit filed by the Croatian state but through civil suits.
Milanovic was hopeful that the Croatian-Slovenian border would no longer exist in two years' time when Croatia hopes to enter the Schengen area.


(Hina)



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