SIBENIK, Sept 15 (Hina) - Croatian and Slovene environmental protection ministers, Bozo Kovacevic and Janez Kopac, concluded their two-day closed-door talks on water use and environmental protection of the nature parks Zumberak and
Secovelj Valley Saturday. They stated the unsolved Croatia-Slovenia border question hinders solving the problem of use of water in the border area. The two ministers agreed an expert hydro-geological survey should be conducted to determine exactly how much water from the border area pumps belongs to each country. The Slovene minister pointed out there were no practical problems in using the border area water pumps, because the regime is the same as it was when Croatia and Slovenia were part of Yugoslavia, but the problems arise in charging for such water, because Croatia has water charges and Slovenia doesn't. That question will have to be regulated through an inter-govern
SIBENIK, Sept 15 (Hina) - Croatian and Slovene environmental
protection ministers, Bozo Kovacevic and Janez Kopac, concluded
their two-day closed-door talks on water use and environmental
protection of the nature parks Zumberak and Secovelj Valley
Saturday.
They stated the unsolved Croatia-Slovenia border question hinders
solving the problem of use of water in the border area.
The two ministers agreed an expert hydro-geological survey should
be conducted to determine exactly how much water from the border
area pumps belongs to each country.
The Slovene minister pointed out there were no practical problems
in using the border area water pumps, because the regime is the same
as it was when Croatia and Slovenia were part of Yugoslavia, but the
problems arise in charging for such water, because Croatia has
water charges and Slovenia doesn't.
That question will have to be regulated through an inter-
governmental agreement, Kopac said.
The Croatian minister announced plans for cooperation on the
project of environmental protection of the natural parks Zumberak
and Secovelj Valley, the funds for which will be requested from the
European Union, as well as rivers Mura and Drava in a joint effort by
the ecology ministries of Hungary, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.
(hina) js