ZAGREB, September 21, 2018 – Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in Salzburg on Thursday that it was essential that Croatia continued building good relations with Slovenia, adding that he considered a success the fact that relations remained good despite an arbitration ruling on their border dispute which Zagreb does not recognise.
Plenković was attending an informal European Union summit in the Austrian city of Salzburg on Wednesday and Thursday, where he met for the first time with the new Slovenian Prime Minister Marjan Šarec. “Yesterday we met for the first time. Today, under the protocol, we sat side by side and we had more time for an informal conversation. I think it is essential to continue building good relations between our two countries,” Plenković said.
We have managed to maintain good relations in the context of the arbitration ruling which Croatia does not recognise, Plenković said at the end of the summit meeting. He said that Croatia and Slovenia are close countries that had no problems in the past, whereas all outstanding issues in their relations stem from the collapse of the Yugoslav federation.
In response to a reporter’s remark that the Slovenian lawsuit before the Court of the EU over Croatia’s refusal to recognise the arbitration award does not befit the good relationship, Plenković said that Slovenia now had a new government, although not all cabinet members were new.
“In Slovenia the government has changed, but not necessarily all actors in it. They have opted for their direction, and if it is the direction they want to have, we will also use legal means to respond to it.”
“On the other hand, we will seek solutions that could lead to an agreement,” he said.
