LJUBLJANA, Aug 5 (Hina) - The announcement of Croatia's plans to declare an economic belt in the Adriatic sea was coldly greeted in Slovenia. Slovenia's foreign ministry on Monday described such a Croatian move as "unilateral
intervention into agreed solutions prior to the final demarcation of the sea border", while the press on Tuesday cautioned that such a decision of Zagreb could be harmful for Slovenia's interests.
LJUBLJANA, Aug 5 (Hina) - The announcement of Croatia's plans to
declare an economic belt in the Adriatic sea was coldly greeted in
Slovenia. Slovenia's foreign ministry on Monday described such a
Croatian move as "unilateral intervention into agreed solutions
prior to the final demarcation of the sea border", while the press
on Tuesday cautioned that such a decision of Zagreb could be harmful
for Slovenia's interests. #L#
The leading daily Delo said a possible bilateral agreement between
Italy and Croatia on the widening of the economic zone in the
Adriatic would be harmful for third countries.
"If Croatia and Italy proclaim an Exclusive Economic Zone to the
middle of the Adriatic sea, and carry out the demarcation of
epicontinental belts, there would be no more international waters.
A question poses itself what would happen to Slovenia's request for
direct access to the international waters. In that case, the
nearest international waters would off Albania's and Montenegro's
shores instead at the well-known T5 position off Umag. In light of
the fact that in the international waters Croatia has not yet
defined borders with Slovenia and consequently with Italy in the
northern Adriatic, Zagreb's decision is particularly strange,"
according to an article which Delo ran in Tuesday's issue.
Delo speculates that Italy might accept Croatia's suggestion for
the widening of the EEZ only if it "were given special concessions
from Croatia".
In addition to this problem, Croatia has not defined its borders at
with Slovenia and Montenegro, and therefore, for Delo, Zagreb's
idea is more problematic and delicate.
Another daily, called Dnevnik, wrote that Ljubljana warned Zagreb
that "within its common foreign policy, the European Union is not
inclined to see the set-up of new economic zones on its territory,
and Croatia, being on the road towards the EU, will have to respect
that suggestion".
The daily added that Slovenia would oppose its neighbour's plans to
declare the economic zone.
(hina) ms sb