LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR, Sept 19 (Hina) - Border disputes will not affect the integration of Slovenia and Croatia into the European Union (EU) as they are bilateral issues which should be resolved through dialogue, the chief of the mission
of the European Commission (EC) in Slovenia, Ambassador Erwan Foure has said.
LJUBLJANA/MARIBOR, Sept 19 (Hina) - Border disputes will not affect
the integration of Slovenia and Croatia into the European Union
(EU) as they are bilateral issues which should be resolved through
dialogue, the chief of the mission of the European Commission (EC)
in Slovenia, Ambassador Erwan Foure has said. #L#
Asked about his opinion of the development of Slovene-Croatian
relations and if the EU was worried that the southern Schengen
border was still not known because Croatia reportedly refuses an
already accepted border deal, he was quoted by the Slovene daily
Vecer on Friday as saying, "That doesn't worry us because it's a
bilateral issue which should be settled by agreement between both
sides".
The ambassador said the EC hoped the matter would be settled through
dialogue but recalled that multilateral talks were a possibility if
Slovenia and Croatia were unable to reach an agreement.
As for the issue of Croatia's intention to proclaim an economic zone
in the Adriatic, to which Slovenia objects, he said that meetings of
environmental ministers within the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative and
an upcoming conference on fishing in the Mediterranean would help
in finding a solution.
Foure cautioned that Slovenia, during its accession to the EU, must
watch its steps and "not allow itself to make blunders".
Speaking of the EU's further enlargement, he quoted EC President
Romano Prodi, who said it was a "long road on which the Union's help
will be needed".
"First among those states is Croatia, which has already submitted
its application, on which the European Commission will define its
stand in the first half of next year," said Foure.
(hina) ha