Luxembourg, 27/04/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 27 April, EU foreign ministers encouraged Slovenia and Croatia to swiftly agree on the latest proposal put forward by Olli Rehn aimed at resolving their border dispute and breaking the deadlock in talks on Croatia's membership to the EU. Meeting in External Relations Council in Luxembourg, ministers supported the mediation work put in by the enlargement commissioner and expressed the hope that a solution would be found “as soon as possible” on the basis of the offer submitted by Mr Rehn to the two countries on 22 April. The offer provides for the establishment of a legal arbitration committee responsible for settling the conflict. Pending the verdict, the Slovenian veto on Croatia's accession talks would be lifted. The arbitration committee would be composed of five judges - both sides would designate one judge and the other three judges would be appointed by common accord. In the event of disagreement, it would be the president of the International Court of Justice in The Hague who would rule. So far, neither Ljubljana nor Zagreb have yet taken a stance on this new offer. Diplomatic sources say they have until early May to state their position. As things stand, no further trilateral meeting (Commission, Slovenia, Croatia) is scheduled to take place. The Slovenian government is still analysing the offer made by the Commission. It will conduct an internal consultation process this week with a view to preparing its stance, Slovenian sources explain.
Alexandr Vondra who (for the last time) presided the Council, told the press that Mr Rehn's latest proposal had received the member states' “massive” support. The revised offer constitutes a “sound base” for finding a solution and should be accepted by the two countries, Mr Vondra said. The president of the Council stressed how urgent it was to resolve the dispute which, in his view, does not only concern the two countries in question but could also have an adverse impact on the whole of EU strategy in the Western Balkans. Mr Rehn welcomed the Council's support for his initiative and awaits a positive response from the Slovenian and Croatian authorities early May. “We are now so close that we should not miss the target”, he said.
Addressing his colleagues, the Slovenian foreign minister, Samuel Zbogar, stressed that Slovenia continues to support Croatia's accession process but that it will continue to block Croatian membership negotiations until its own vital interests are met. Slovenia wants to see not only international law applied but also the principle of “equity” to ensure that the country has access to the sea.
The Czech EU Presidency had decided to place the Croatian-Slovenian dispute - hitherto considered in Brussels as a “purely bilateral” matter - on the agenda of the Council in order to step up political pressure on the two countries. If no rapid solution is found, the dispute could in fact be a risk for Croatia's accession timetable. Croatia aims to close negotiations before the end of this year and join the EU early 2011. Mr Rehn supported the initiative of the Czech Presidency. It is “understandable and useful” that the Presidency should decide to inform the Council on the state of the dossier, the commissioner said. (H.B./transl.jl)