ZAGREB, February 22, 2019 – The European Union missed an ideal opportunity to emphasise the rule of law principle by siding with Slovenia in its border dispute with Croatia, Slovenian President Borut Pahor said at the end of his two day visit to Brussels on Thursday.
During his visit, Pahor met with Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the Council of the EU Donald Tusk.
Speaking to the press after their meeting on Wednesday, Juncker declined to comment on the Slovenian-Croatian border dispute and the Commission’s role, saying there was nothing new. He confirmed that they had discussed the arbitration dispute on Pahor’s initiative.
Pahor said on Thursday that Juncker had told him that the Commission had an option but not a duty to join the Slovenian lawsuit against Croatia over its failure to implement the arbitration ruling.
Slovenia claims that Croatia’s refusal to implement the arbitration ruling is in violation of EU law. Ljubljana expected that the Commission would support its position last year, but that did not happen.
Pahor said it was still possible for the Commission to state its position on the arbitration dispute while the case was before the Court of Justice in Luxembourg.
Asked if he had received any guarantees from the Commission about that possibility, Pahor said that one should be very cautious in expressing one’s expectations from the Commission.
More news about Slovenia’s border dispute with Croatia can be found in the Politics section.
