SLOVENE ENVIRONMENT MINISTER ON ARBITRATION REGARDING KRSKO

LJUBLJANA, Sept 17 (Hina) - Slovene Environment and Zoning Minister Janez Kopac said that international arbitration regarding the joint Croatian-Slovene nuclear power plant of Krsko was not possible at this time because an agreement on Krsko was being discussed by the Constitutional Court. #L# "It is well-known that we are waiting for the verdict of the Constitutional Court which will enable a discussion on the ratification of the agreement in parliament. Applying or not applying the agreement which is not in effect cannot be solved through arbitration," Kopac told Slovenia's financial weekly "Finance", in comment on the possibility of an arbitration dispute as mentioned by Zagreb's daily "Vecernji list" which cited a representative of the Croatian power company (HEP). The Slovene parliamentary opposition and representatives of local authorities in Krsko submitted the agreement on the nuclear plant, which the Croatian parliament has ratified, to the Slovene Constitutional court, claiming that the agreement prevented the right of the local citizens to a healthy environment as defined by the Slovene Constitution. (hina) lml