Croatia, Slovenia turn to arbitration

05/11/2009

A deal on the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia was signed Wednesday by the countries' prime ministers.

By Natasa Radic for Southeast European Times in Zagreb – 05/11/09

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt (right) and Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor greet each other before the signing Wednesday (November 4th) in Stockholm. [Getty Images]

In a move hailed by the international community, Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and her Slovenian counterpart, Borut Pahor, signed an agreement in Stockholm on Wednesday (November 4th) that is expected to end the sea border dispute between two countries. The decision was welcomed by the EU, the European Commission and the United States.

According to the agreement, the issue, which has been a stumbling block in Zagreb and Ljubljana's bilateral relations since the independence of the two countries in 1991, will go to international arbitration -- and the decision will be binding.

The dispute intensified last year when Slovenia used its EU member status to block Croatia's EU negotiation talks. Now, Croatia hopes to finish the negotiations by the end of next year, and join the EU in 2011.

"Today we have not just turned a page, we have opened a whole new book," said Kosor. "Now I hope that we will also receive the support of our respective parliaments and that today's agreement can give new hope to our neighbours in Southeastern Europe."

Pahor said that mutual trust and respect between he and Kosor paved the way for the signing. Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt also signed the agreement, as his country holds the rotating EU presidency.

The Croatian parliament approved the deal on Monday, underscoring that the agreement does not pre-judge the outcome of international arbitration.

It is crucial for sovereign countries to know exactly where their border is, Pahor said. "That was not possible to know in the past 18 years, but now we are on the road to succeed."

"We are in a situation that either both politics and both countries will see a joint interest that will lead us to stability, or they will focus and find only the differences in the views of the two countries. That would lead us into conflict and [an] instable situation," Pahor said.

For now, the path seems to be to stability. However, the public from both sides of the border fear that this is not a "win-win" situation: for instance, 87% of Slovenians fear that the agreement favours Croatian interests.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn congratulated all parties on reaching a "historic agreement". "This is a most European way of peaceful settlement of disputes," Rehn said. "I encourage both countries to proceed with ratification without unnecessary delay, and hope that Croatia makes the last mile in the [EU] negotiations, which are reaching the final stage."