The statement was issued on the occasion of Rupel's meetings with the European commissioners for foreign affairs and enlargement, Benita Ferrero Waldner and Olli Rehn respectively, held on Thursday.
The statement said that Rupel and the European officials discussed implementation rules for the Croatian-Slovene agreement on border trade and cooperation, which partly refers to the fishing regime in the area covering the Croatian part of the Istria peninsula and the Slovene part of the Adriatic coast.
"That part of the agreement is within the jurisdiction of the European Commission, and I asked that the issuing of fishing permits start as soon as possible," Rupel said.
After it was admitted to the European Union last year, Slovenia cancelled the so-called fishing code which regulated fishing in the wider area of Piran Bay, stating that the matter was now within the jurisdiction of the European Commission and could no longer be subject to a bilateral agreement with Croatia.
Nevertheless, Rupel said that the issue, which should be solved within the European context, had not affected Slovenia's view that the talks on Croatia's full membership in the EU should start as soon as possible.