ZAGREB/PORTOROZ, March 11 (Hina) - The second trilateral meeting of foreign ministry officials from Italy, Slovenia and Croatia on issues pertaining to the ecological and fishing protection of the Adriatic Sea was held in the Slovene
coastal city of Portoroz on Thursday.
ZAGREB/PORTOROZ, March 11 (Hina) - The second trilateral meeting of
foreign ministry officials from Italy, Slovenia and Croatia on issues
pertaining to the ecological and fishing protection of the Adriatic
Sea was held in the Slovene coastal city of Portoroz on Thursday.#L#
According to a press release issued by the Croatian ministry, the
meeting, held by Croatian Foreign Ministry State Secretary Hido
Biscevic, the State Secretary in the Slovene Foreign Ministry, Andrej
Logar, and the State Undersecretary in the Italian Foreign Ministry,
Roberto Antonione, focused on attempts to harmonise views on the
implementation of the Croatian parliament's decision on the
proclamation of a protected ecological and fishing zone in the
Adriatic.
The participants in the talks agreed that it was in the three
countries' joint interest to quickly find the optimum solutions for
the protection of the northern Adriatic through cooperation between
the three countries and their compliance with European Union
standards, reads the Croatian press release.
The Portoroz meeting also revolved around issues of economic
cooperation in infrastructure projects.
Talks planned at a higher political level will further encourage the
three neighbours to enhance their cooperation, the release said,
adding that the Croatian seaside city of Pula will be the host of the
next round of talks, scheduled for mid-April.
Slovenia's official Logar said after Thursday's meeting that his
country proposed the establishment of a joint zone in which Croatia,
Italy and Slovenia could realise their interests in the field of the
protection and exploitation of natural resources in the northern
Adriatic.
Logar went on to say that the meeting did not bring about solutions
which Ljubljana was looking forward to, such as the establishment of
the joint zone and the annulment of the Croatian parliament's
declaration on the Croatian ecological and fishing zone.
He said that the Slovene proposal was acceptable for Italy while
Croatia would need some time to accept it.
Logar added that the Slovene proposal also incorporated European
principles under which unilateral solutions could not be accepted even
if they were legitimate and agreement of all concerned parties was
necessary.
(Hina) ms sb