ZAGREB, April 23, 2018 – The Slovenian government on Monday asked the European Commission to become involved in efforts to settle a Slovenian-Croatian dispute that concerns the so-called untransferred savings deposits of Croatian clients of the Zagreb-based branch of the now defunct Slovenian bank Ljubljanska Banka, saying in a letter to EC President Jean-Claude Juncker and other senior EC officials that the continuation of legal proceedings before Croatian courts concerning the dispute was contrary to European and international law.
“The government has asked the European Commission to mediate in the case concerning transferred foreign currency savings deposits. Slovenia has been maintaining from the start that this is a succession issue that should be dealt with as part of talks on succession (to the former Yugoslavia). On the other hand, contrary to obligations that have been assumed, court proceedings have continued in Croatia causing financial harm to Ljubljanska Banka and Nova Ljubljanska Banka. Since the EC already had an active role in the signing of the Croatian-Slovenian memorandum on Ljubljanska Banka in Mokrice, Slovenia expects the Commission to accept the request for mediation,” the Slovenian government said in a statement.
The Slovenian government maintains in its letter to the EC that Slovenia has met its obligations from the Mokrice memorandum signed before Croatia’s accession to the EU by then prime ministers Zoran Milanović of Croatia and Janez Janša of Slovenia, thus making it possible for Croatia to join the EU, while on the other hand Croatia has not fulfilled its obligations, which has resulted in the continuation of legal proceedings against Ljubljanska Banka and Nova Ljubljanska Banka before Croatian courts.
The Slovenian government says that four such cases have resulted in final verdicts, of which three were to the detriment of Ljubljanska Banka and Nova Ljubljanska Banka, and that it had to address the EC after Croatia failed to respond to its repeated calls to ensure that the cases against Ljubljanska Banka were dropped.
