Slovenian opposition leader Janša doesn’t consider the arbitration decision favourable to Slovenia.
The leading Slovenian opposition party, the Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), and its leader Janez Janša announced on Wednesday the proposal for the conclusions of today’s session of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy, stating that the arbitration decision in the border dispute with Croatia should be abandoned if it is not implemented by the end of this year, adding that it was necessary to restore the situation at the border as it was in 1991, when the Slovenian independence was proclaimed, reports Jutarnji List on October 11, 2017.
Thus, the latest session of the parliamentary committee, despite expectations of political unity, actually revealed that there are substantial differences in Slovenia regarding the arbitration dispute with Croatia.
In the proposal of the parliamentary conclusions drawn up by the party, it is argued that the international arbitration law is binding for both sides in the dispute, but only until the end of this year, when the envisaged deadline for the implementation expires. Afterwards, Slovenia should abandon the arbitration decision, since it, according to the party, did not meet Slovenia’s expectations about border demarcation on the land and at sea.
Janša’s party alleges that the arbitration decision did not fulfil what the voters were promised by the Slovenian government in 2010, nor did it secure to Slovenia a direct access to the open sea. Therefore, the decision should be abandoned next year and situation returned to the state of affairs in 1991, when both countries became sovereign and proclaimed independence.
In that case, according to the party, Slovenia should re-established control over the entire Bay of Piran and have territorial contact with the open sea, with the right to declare sovereign maritime zones in the area of international waters in the Adriatic Sea, which would be in accordance with the constitutional charter adopted by Slovenia in 1991 and the declaration on the integrity of the Bay of Piran.
The closed session will also be attended by Prime Minister Miro Cerar and Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec, who will present to members of Parliament the legislative and diplomatic steps the government is taking in order to implement the arbitration decision, which Ljubljana insists should be applied despite the position of Croatia that the decision is not binding due to the compromised arbitration procedure.
Erjavec confirmed before the session that Slovenia would still insist that the arbitration decision should be implemented and would seek support from other countries, and he called on the opposition to confirm political unity around the position that the arbitration is binding for the Croatian side as well.
Translated from Jutarnji List.
