HSP leader Anto Djapic said the dispute should be settled in a democratic, European and civilised way, and that any delay harmed Croatia on its road to the European Union.
HSP advisor and former foreign minister Mate Granic said Croatia must start lobbying for binding international arbitration right away.
Djurdja Adlesic, parliament deputy speaker and vice president of the Social Liberals, said there had been no political will to reach a border deal until now and that Croatia had made many mistakes, the biggest being the border deal initialled by former prime ministers Ivica Racan of Croatia and Janez Drnovsek of Slovenia.
Assistant Foreign Minister Damir Kusen said progress had been made with the recent meeting between incumbent prime ministers Ivo Sanader of Croatia and Janez Jansa of Slovenia. He added state secretaries were expected to meet early next month to agree on further steps and ways of avoiding incidents at sea.
International law expert Vladimir Ibler said the dispute should be settled at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. He added arbitration was not a good solution because there was likely to be a dispute as to the subject of arbitration.
Ibler said Croatia must respect international law and conventions and insist that its positions be included in documents. He added Croatia must not consent to issues being closed in a package or not in accordance with legal standards. He also slammed the Racan-Drnovsek deal.
Assistant European Integration Minister Tamara Obradovic said the European Union had recommended that Croatia and Slovenia close outstanding issues through dialogue. She recalled that the Union's members settled mutual as well as disputes with nonmembers at the Hague court.
The chairman of the parliamentary European Integration Committee, Neven Mimica, said it was necessary to once again try to agree on a mutually acceptable solution or to solve the dispute before the Hague court. He too criticised the Racan-Drnovsek deal, saying border demarcation could not function based on an agreement between politicians which was not rooted in international law and conventions.