SLOVENE PM DEFENDS AGREEMENTS WITH CROATIA

LJUBLJANA, June 19 (Hina) - Slovenia's Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said on Tuesday his government would insist on parliament's ratification of an agreement on local border traffic and cooperation with Croatia without delay. After ten years he wants open issues with Croatia to be finally solved, especially the sea border issue, which is very important for Slovenia. Drnovsek's comments were spurred by Sasa Pece, vice president of the National Party (SNS) and an MP, who said Slovenia would lose access to the open sea by ratifying the local border agreement with Croatia, and that Drnovsek was yielding to NATO, the European Union and Croatia to "increase his popularity" to the detriment of national interests. Drnovsek's response was calm. "This type of cheap populism is the easiest way to win popularity, especially at the expense of neighbouring states. It is the most simple way, but in my opinion also the most irresponsible. We, on the other hand, shall make efforts to finally settle the open issues we negotiated because it is time we did." Pece made his claims in parliament, when the prime minister responds to questions from the opposition in a live television broadcast. Pece said Drnovsek was selling Slovene territory, that he was willing to sign an agreement on Krsko, a Croatian-Slovene nuclear power plant, with no advantages for his country, and that he would breach the Schengen Agreement by opening 27 new local border crossings with Croatia. Drnovsek said the recent agreements with Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan were useful to both countries. The ratification of a local border traffic agreement with Croatia will not prejudge the border or breach Schengen, which refers to the prevention of illegal migrations and can be signed only by EU members, he said. Drnovsek also refuted Pece's claim about rumours to the effect that Slovenia would cede to Croatia's flight control the supervision of air space over 7,000 metres. "I know nothing about this," said the prime minister. He asserted that "restricting contact with Croatia to a minimum", as suggested by Pece's party, would be "far from Slovenia's national interest. He also reminded that the final decision on the border agreement would be made by parliament. Drnovsek took the opportunity to state that his government had constantly emphasised free access to the sea as a condition for signing a border agreement, and that this would remain so. "In the future we want to keep relations with Croatia as normal as possible." He said the local border traffic agreement did not prejudge the border but made life easier for people on both sides. "A hermetic closure of the border would not be in the interest of either Slovenia or Croatia." Drnovsek said the claim that such an agreement was contrary to the Schengen Agreement Slovenia intends to sign after joining the EU was incorrect. As for the Krsko nuclear power plant, the Slovene prime minister reiterated his earlier assessment that his agreement with Racan was a good one, acknowledging investments from both sides, joint obligations, as well as equal rights. With regard to security and business, he said that Slovenia's right to nominate the chairman of the board enabled it to prevent a blockade in the power plant's functioning once Croatia assumed its share in the management. If the agreement was not signed, Slovenia might purchase Croatia's 50-percent ownership share in Krsko, he said. (hina) ha sb