"Our position is clear and we shall not yield (to Croatia's demands) as we have no reason for something like that," the Slovene PM said at a regular press briefing in Ljubljana.
Rop said that his cabinet did not accept conditions on which Croatia insisted for the renewal of the said code, and added that contacts were being held with Zagreb so as to find the best possible solution for local fishermen.
Last Friday, co-chairpersons of the permanent bilateral commission for the implementation of cross-border traffic and cooperation between Croatia and Slovenia, Olga Kresovic Rogulja and Aleksander Gerzina, met in the Slovene town of Otocac to try agree a new solution for economic fishing in the border area following the latest series of incidents in Savudrija Bay, the Croatian Foreign Ministry said in a press release that day.
"Following frequent incidents in Savudrija Bay, caused by the Slovene police that disrupted economic activities of Croatian fishermen, the co-chairpersons of the permanent bilateral commission met in Otocac, Slovenia, for talks," the press release read.
The goal of the meeting, which the Slovene media and politicians later described as unsuccessful, was to try harmonise a new solution for economic fishing in that part of the border area, after the previous provisional regime (for fisheries) ceased to be valid on 30 April 2004, the Croatian ministry said.
The meeting revolved around several possibilities including "the renewal of the provisional regime, its possible correction and introduction of new elements so as to ensure good neighbourly relations and unhampered fishing activities for fishermen from both sides of the border", the Croatian ministry reported last Friday.