The two countries still have very different positions about border dispute.
Croatian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Davor Ivo Stier and his Slovenian counterpart Karl Erjavec discussed on Friday in Ljubljana the relations between the two countries and a number of other issues, such as the problem of refugees. At a press conference after the meeting, they confirmed that there was no progress on how to solve the border issue, reports Jutarnji List on November 25, 2016.
Erjavec said that border had still “not been determined” and reiterated the position that the border agreement should be reached through arbitration, which must come to a decision. He said that the arbitration agreement between Slovenia and Croatia was an international treaty adopted under the auspices of the European Commission and that it would be strange if Croatia would not respect it.
Responding to a series of questions by Slovenian journalists, Minister Stier reiterated that the arbitration process was compromised and had ended, adding that Croatia was ready to seek a bilateral solution with Slovenia. “The sooner we start, the better”, said Stier.
As for the fence, which Slovenia constructed at certain locations along the Čabranka river, and which was the subject of Croatian protest note sent last week to which Slovenia has not responded, Stier said that this issue remained unresolved after the ministerial meeting, but that he was confident that it would be resolved shortly. Croatian Foreign Minister stressed that the unresolved border issue was of bilateral nature and that unresolved bilateral issues existed between many other European countries, but were not obstacles to progress in mutual relations and cooperation.
Erjavec resolutely reiterated Ljubljana’s position that “the border has not yet been determined”, adding that he was surprised by “brave” position of his Croatian counterpart that the fence by the Čabranka river was constructed on the Croatian territory.
Regarding Turkey, the two ministers agreed that it was necessary to maintain constructive relationship between the European Union and Turkey. “It is not in the interests of neither the EU, Croatia, or Slovenia, to suspend negotiations with Turkey… We need a balanced stance toward Ankara”, said Stier.
Both Stier and Erjavec agreed that economic cooperation between the two countries was progressing well. According to the data of the Slovenian side, foreign trade has been growing by 14 percent annually, while the investments have also been increasing.
