SLOVENIA: FISHING ZONE CAN HAMPER RATIFICATION OF CROATIA'S SAA

LJUBLJANA, Oct 20 (Hina) - The unilateral proclamation of the ecological and fishing zone in the Adriatic and insufficient cooperation with the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague could negatively affect ratification of the Croatia-European Union Stabilisation and Association Agreement and support to Croatia's integration with the EU in some EU member-countries, the Slovene foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday. #L# The ministry issued the statement following headlines in the Slovene press commenting on the EU's "lukewarm response" to Slovene Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel's request that it condemn Croatia's decision to declare a protected ecological and fishing zone in the Adriatic. "The conclusions adopted in Luxembourg completely correspond with Slovenia's expectations and wishes. Croatia has been urged to engage in a constructive dialogue with neighbouring countries. The adopted text is a clear sign of support to Slovenia and a serious warning to Croatia, which has also been warned about the need to cooperate more closely with the UN tribunal with regard to the "Gotovina case". Both the unilateral proclamation of the protected zone and the insufficient cooperation with the Hague tribunal could have a negative impact in some EU countries on the ratification of the Croatia-EU Stabilisation and Association Agreement," reads the ministry's statement. (hina) rml sb