RUPEL SAYS SLOVENIA SUPPORTS CROATIA'S JOINING EU IN PRINCIPLE

BRUSSELS/LJUBLJANA, May 17 (Hina) - Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel said on Monday Slovenia in principle supported the start of negotiations with Croatia on its joining the European Union, but added that he expected "a lively discussion" at the session of the EU Council of Ministers in June, Slovene media reported.#L# The European Commission's avis on Croatia's EU membership application, which recommend the start of negotiations on membership, will be discussed next month at the session of the Council of Ministers and at the EU summit, the foreign ministers of the 25 EU member countries confirmed in Brussels on Monday. "Slovenia also supports Croatia's joining the EU, but it is not very likely that the process would be smooth," Rupel said commenting on today's decision of the Council of Ministers. Rupel said Croatia would receive the candidate status at the summit in June adding, however, he was not sure that the date of the start of negotiations would be set. "At the moment Croatia is the most favourable candidate, and there is almost no country which would object to Croatia's joining the EU, but as far as the date of the start of negotiations is concerned I could hardly says that the process would be smooth and unconditional," Rupel told a news conference in Brussels. "Slovenia supports Croatia's joining the EU in principle, but it also has some questions to ask," the minister said declining to say what questions would that be. (Hina) it