LJUBLJANA, Sept 19 (Hina) - Relations with Slovenia and border issues do not halt Slovenia's admission to NATO as Slovenia is already an exporter of stability, MP Jelko Kacin said on Thursday.
LJUBLJANA, Sept 19 (Hina) - Relations with Slovenia and border
issues do not halt Slovenia's admission to NATO as Slovenia is
already an exporter of stability, MP Jelko Kacin said on Thursday.
#L#
Talking to a network of non-commercial radio stations, Kacin, the
chairman of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs and
former defence minister, said the Slovene government continued to
insist on the border deal initialled with Croatia and on Slovenia's
right to the access to open sea it had in the former Yugoslavia.
Kacin said Slovenia had proved many times that its strategic
interest was to see "Croatia integrated as well, more a European
than a Balkan state, as close as possible to the European Union and
the NATO alliance."
Kacin said his parliamentary committed had supported Croatia's
admission to the CEFTA on Tuesday.
"Once it becomes a member, Croatia will be forced to respect the
rules of the game and conduct which are in force in that
organisation, which means there will be far fewer possibilities to
react as Istrian fishermen did recently," said Kacin, speaking of
fishing incidents in Piran Bay. He stated it was inadmissible to
"have fishermen decide about local border issues."
"Piran Bay is an area for which both states have to sign a border
agreement. This agreement has been initialled but not signed. The
fact remains, however, that the two governments have agreed on it
and that both sides have initialled it. This is a fact we shall
always have to bear in mind in the future, even if the subject will
be arbitration," said Kacin.
(hina) ha sb