ZAGREB, March 10, 2020 - The candidate for new Slovenian foreign minister, Anže Logar, on Tuesday spoke in favour of strengthening relations with Croatia while protecting Slovenian national interests.

Speaking before the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee, Logar said it was positive that initiatives had been taken at the presidential level to build confidence with Croatia, while no such encouragement had come from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as of late.

"We should closely cooperate with Croatia and support initiatives that will build mutual trust, while at the same time taking account of the need to ensure respect for international law and court rulings," Logar said while presenting his programme as the candidate of Prime Minister-designate Janez Janša for the future Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In his opinion, the present Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not maintain close contacts with Croatia and did not have a good insight into the relationship with Croatia.

"Croatia is just one of our neighbours, we have outstanding issues with it, but we will resolve them sooner or later," Logar said.

He said that Slovenia should boost parliamentary contacts with Croatia and that it would have a better insight into their relationship if it appointed a special commissioner for relations with Croatia.

Logar said that better cooperation with Croatia was also important for strategic reasons, citing illegal migration and the coronavirus outbreak, adding that there would be more challenges in the future that would require cooperation.

More news about relations between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 28, 2020 - International law is the basis for solving the Croatian-Slovenian border dispute, on which the European Commission and the European Court of Justice have taken positions, Croatian President Zoran Milanović said on Thursday after talks with Slovenian President Borut Pahor.

The two heads of state held a working meeting in Otočec Ob Krki, Slovenia during Milanović's first foreign visit as Croatia's new president.

"What is the basis? In our opinion, international law," he said, adding that he was saying this "before talks have started."

He said the two countries were "nowhere" in terms of procedure and that it was necessary to see how to proceed. The basis will be "what we agree."

"It's necessary to sit at the table and talk, literally and figuratively, and see how to proceed," Milanović said, adding that border arbitration was not an issue that "disturbs the sleep and gives a hangover" to the two countries.

Pahor said the outstanding issues would not be solved overnight but that they should be approached in the spirit of "mutual respect, good neighbourliness and European values." He reiterated, however, Slovenia's position on the need to honour the arbitration award.

"Slovenia considers that the tribunal has delivered a judgment and that it must be honoured," he said, adding that resolving outstanding issues was of strategic importance for Slovenia, both in terms of security and the economy.

Pahor directly tied Croatia's prospective entry to the Schengen Area to the final settlement of the border dispute, i.e. the enforcement of the arbitral tribunal's 2017 award. "It's in Slovenia's interest that Schengen expand to Croatia... The element of security is very important for Slovenia. But if an agreement were reached on the arbitral tribunal, that would make it easier for Slovenia to adopt a decision on Croatia's Schengen accession."

Milanovic said Slovenia benefitted the most from Croatia's protection of its own border. "Croatia wishes to enter Schengen and it's obvious that Slovenia can benefit the most from that."

"If Croatia currently weren't present on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, it's a question what situation Slovenia would be in in protecting its own and Schengen's external border," he said.

Milanović said he understood that Slovenia could not ignore the arbitration issue in Piran Bay just like that "because it's been going on too long and it has an emotional element." He added, however, that there are border disputes in the EU that have lasted since 1815 and "one lives with that."

"Slovenia is in a position to say yes or no here. The European Commission has assessed that Croatia meets all the technical requirements (for Schengen) and Slovenia now has to see what suits it."

Milanović said Croatia was criticised in the European Parliament for being rough and too aggressive in protecting its border, adding that there was both truth and exaggeration in that. "But that's a tough job that we will and would, in case we enter the Schengen regime as soon as possible, have to do even more intensively."

Asked what he expected of Slovenia's new government if Janez Janša became prime minister, Milanović said Janša had been prime minister in two terms already. "I'm convinced there will be no negative surprises, but there will be a dialogue."

Both presidents supported the cooperation of Croatia and Slovenia in the Alpe-Adria and Brdo-Brijuni initiatives, and strongly supported EU enlargement to North Macedonia and Albania.

"We support enlargement to those two countries which have been kept on the side for a long time, and keeping them in uncertainty is counterproductive and dangerous," said Milanovic.

He is disappointed, he added, that they have been treated as "poor, less worthy brothers" although they have met many requirements.

"Let's be realistic. Some conditions they will never and can't fulfil, just as perhaps neither Croatia nor Slovenia ever would. Negotiations should be begun with those states as soon as possible and simultaneously."

Milanović said both Albania and North Macedonia had come far and that perhaps they were even blackmailed a little to change some things, such as their name. "What now? Send the message that it's not enough? That's not the way to build a common Europe and a common house."

He said Albania's problems and legacy "can't be erased overnight" and that it was a burden with which the EU must enter into an arrangement with Albania. It would be even worse to say that the EU does not count on Albania, he added.

"What kind of message is that to a state in which 60% of the population is nominally Islamic, keeping them waiting so long?" Milanović said, adding that he feared that might be interpreted as if that was too many non-Christians.

As for the Slovenian government's criticisms that the measures Croatia has taken to prevent coronavirus from harming the economy, he said he believed the Croatian government was doing what was necessary.

More news about relations between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.

Despite the issues that still linger between Croatia and neighbouring Slovenia owing to the Croatian-Slovenian border dispute, cooperation in transport services with a coming together of Croatian and Slovenian railways.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 13th of February, 2020, HZ PP and SZ Passenger Transport are collaborating on a European Union (EU) project to improve their services and expand their supply of international rail lines, worth 2.8 million euros.

HZ Passenger Transport and Slovenian Railways' SZ Passenger Transport signed an agreement on improving services on international trains between Croatia and Slovenia on Wednesday in Zagreb.

The aim is to improve transport on Croatian and Slovenian railways as part of the Connect2CE EU project, which is, as stated, worth a massive 2.8 million euros in total. The agreement was signed by the President of the Board of HZ Passenger Transport, Zeljko Ukic, and the Director of Slovenia's SZ Passenger Transport, Darja Kocjan.

The goal of the project, according to Ukic, is to improve the planning system and encourage the better coordination of regional public transport systems, in order to strengthen co-operation and improve connectivity.

"The rail passenger carriers are committed to promoting strategic partnerships and working to improve train service between Croatia and Slovenia, ie, Zagreb-Ljubljana, with the aim of increasing passenger numbers and revenues," he said.

About fourteen lines operate between Croatia and Slovenia, with just over 130,000 passengers having been transported last year. Ukic believes that with the cooperation between Croatian and Slovenian railways, new service offers will be introduced to increase the number of passengers and provide them with better quality.

The agreement defines measures that can be achieved through the sale of online tickets in international traffic, the introduction of catering services, the promotion of special offers and the introduction of special types of tickets.

Make sure to follow our dedicated travel and business pages for much more.

ZAGREB, February 11, 2020 - The last country that outgoing President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović will visit will be Slovenia where she will meet with her counterpart Borut Pahor, the president's office confirmed on Tuesday.

The president's office did not confirm the place nor time of the meeting between the two presidents, however, Pahor's office has said that this would be an informal and working meeting as "the culmination of the pair's intense dialogue", said Pahor's office, according to the Slovenian STA news agency.

Pahor's office notes that this will be their 39th meeting and that they will conduct a working lunch and brief walk through Ljubljana.

Pahor and Grabar-Kitarović "preserved their dialogue and good relations in all areas with the exception of respecting the arbitration ruling," Pahor's office said and added that their encounters were very important after Croatia abandoned the arbitration procedure.

Slovenia's STA news agency reported that according to unofficial sources, the meeting will take place at the end of this week.

The term of Grabar-Kitarović ends on 18 February when the inauguration of her successor, Zoran Milanović, is scheduled.

More news about relations between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 3, 2020 - Slovenian police officers on Monday went on a warning strike, which was why the entrance of trucks and cargo vehicles travelling from Croatia to Slovenia took more time than usual at border crossings, the Slovenian traffic information service provider reported on Monday morning.

The token strike lasted between 8am and noon, affecting the traffic flow at the border crossings Bregana/Obrežje and Gruškovje/Macelj.

The strike was conducted in the form of the work-to-rule action only at the border crossings.

A police trade union organised the industrial action as it was dissatisfied with the failure of the government to deliver on its promises it had given two years ago about higher wages for the law enforcement staff.

The government claims it has fulfilled its commitments and underlines that police officers' monthly wages have increased by more than 15% in the meantime.

More news about relations between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 3, 2020 - Slovenian Foreign Minister Miro Cerar said on Sunday that talks on the border issue with Croatia were possible but that they could only be about ways to implement the border arbitration award which Ljubljana considers binding, and that dialogue could be started by Presidents Borut Pahor and Zoran Milanović.

"Talks are necessary. They are possible but they could only be about the arbitration award, that is, ways to implement it," Cerar said in an interview with Slovenian Television.

Dialogue could start between Slovenian President Borut Pahor and Croatian President-elect Zoran Milanović after Milanović takes office, since the Slovenian government resigned last Monday and now operates only as a caretaker government.

Cerar dismissed criticism in Slovenia that he was responsible for Slovenia losing a case against Croatia before the Court of Justice of the EU in Luxembourg.

Cerar said Slovenia had sued Croatia in 2018, at the end of the term of a government that was led by him, but the lawsuit was supported by all parties making up the then ruling coalition and a large portion of parliamentary parties.

He said the lawsuit was worth the effort even though the Luxembourg-based court said it did not have jurisdiction over it.

Cerar said the lawsuit was worth the effort also because of the media statement the EU court published last Friday before publishing the integral version of its ruling. That statement, even though a sentence with the same wording was not included in the ruling itself, says that Croatia and Slovenia must implement the border arbitration ruling and that the border between them is defined, claims Cerar.

The government in Zagreb, however, has dismissed Cerar's claims as factually incorrect because Slovenian media cited only a part of the court statement.

Asked whether early parliamentary elections were possible after Prime Minister Marjan Šarec's resignation last week or a new parliamentary majority would be formed, Cerar said both options were possible.

More news about the border issue between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, February 2, 2020 - Croatia's President-elect Zoran Milanović says that Slovenia is Croatia's most natural ally and that the relations will go forward after the completion of the proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In his comment on Friday's judgement by the Luxembourg-based court on its non-jurisdiction over an action Slovenia brought against Croatia due to their border dispute, Milanović said in Rijeka on Saturday, that the for the sake of its general public, the Slovenian side had had to use all means at its disposal which it found logical when it came to the border dispute and Croatia's rejection to implement the 2017 border arbitration award.

The action brought by Slovenia did not succeed, as this matter really does not fall within the jurisdiction of the court in Luxembourg. Otherwise, it would have received similar actions from many countries, Milanović said, noting that there are still cases that the arrangements of border delimitation and demarcation between some EU member-states are not completed yet.

"Now, when these proceedings (initiated by Slovenia) are over, I can see only good relations and even better relations with Slovenia, because it is closest to us politically," the newly elected Croatian president said.

Asked whether the arbitration award could be the starting point for the talks, Milanović answered in the affirmative.

Asked by the press where he would first travel abroad after taking oath as the president, Milanović said that he still did not know. "There may be Slovenia, Austria. Those are possible variants, however, it is not necessary to be so," said Milanović in Rijeka where he was attending the opening ceremonies for inauguration of that coastal Croatian city as the European Capital of Culture in 2020.

He commended the day-long programme and ceremonies at which Rijeka took the title of one of the two European Capitals of Culture in 2020. The other city is Galway, Ireland.

In response to reporters' questions why he had chosen Rijeka and those opening programmes for his first appearance at official events since his electoral victory, Milanović said that he did not make a choice, explaining "it happened to be so" due to the date of the events.

More news about Zoran Milanović can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 31, 2020 - The Court of Justice of the European Union announced on Friday that it had no jurisdiction to rule on a Slovenian case against Croatia over alleged infringements of European law resulting from Croatia's failure to implement a border arbitration ruling, the Luxembourg-based court stated today.

The decision on non-jurisdiction means that Croatia's arguments are accepted and further proceedings cease automatically.

Rulings handed down by the Court of Justice of the European Union are final and non-appealable.

Slovenia brought the action against Croatia under Article 259 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, moving that the Court of Justice establish that Croatia is in breach of Articles 2 and 4 of the Treaty which relate to respect for the rule of law and loyal cooperation between member states. Slovenia also submits that Croatia is in breach of the regulation on the common fisheries policy, border control and maritime spatial planning.

Croatia, on the other hand, argues that the Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to rule in the present case given that it is not really about the application and interpretation of EU law. According to Croatia, the dispute in this case refers to the interpretation and application of international law and therefore it should be resolved by applying international law and by means envisaged for the peaceful resolution of disputes, including negotiations.

More news about the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.

LJUBLJANA, January 25, 2020 - Slovenian non-governmental organizations have called on their government to cancel the agreement with Croatia on the return of illegal migrants, citing reports of alleged inhumane treatment by the Croatian police.

Representatives of Amnesty International Slovenia (AIS), the Legal-Informational Centre for NGOs (PIC) and the association called Asylum Working Group held on Friday a press conference where they warned about the inhumane conditions in refugee camps in Bosnia and Herzegovina, about the unlawful conduct of the Slovenian police who return migrants to Croatia and about the cruel treatment of asylum seekers by the Croatian police, reports the Slovenia's press agency STA.

This is how "one of the biggest humanitarian crises in Europe" emerges, to which Slovenia is also contributing since it deports migrants it finds on its territory back to Croatia on a massive scale, without giving them any written decision or the possibility of an appeal, Slovenian NGOs say.

According to Blaž Kovač of AIS, there have been numerous testimonies by NGOs and media that Croatian authorities violate the prohibition of torture under the Convention on Human Rights in their treatment of migrants returned from Slovenia. This is why Slovenian authorities should cease implementing the bilateral agreement with Croatia which enables the readmission of potential asylum seekers, he says.

Barbara Vodopivec from the association Asylum Working Group said that it had recently been discovered that the Slovenian police, following internal instructions, had been virtually preventing migrants from seeking asylum in Slovenia, which is why, in her opinion, the interior minister and the director general of the police should consider resigning.

Slovenian Interior Minister Boštjan Poklukar said at the beginning of the week that Slovenia had successfully returned 16,000 illegal migrants to Croatia last year and that the trend of illegal entry had been on the rise for the last four years.

More news about the migrant crisis can be found in the Politics section.

ZAGREB, January 24, 2020 - The Court of Justice of the European Union will announce on January 31 whether it has jurisdiction to rule on a Slovenian case against Croatia over alleged infringements of European law resulting from Croatia's failure to implement a border arbitration ruling, the Luxembourg-based court said on Friday.

The Court's Advocate General Priit Pikamae of Estonia issued his opinion in mid-December saying that the Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case. His opinion, however, is not binding and it is difficult to predict the Court's judgment. The practice to date shows that in cases before the Grand Chamber, as is the case with Slovenia's action against Croatia, the Court has followed the advocate general's opinion in about 50% of the cases.

Slovenia brought the action against Croatia under Article 259 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, moving that the Court of Justice establish that Croatia is in breach of Articles 2 and 4 of the Treaty which relate to respect for the rule of law and loyal cooperation between member states. Slovenia also submits that Croatia is in breach of the regulation on the common fisheries policy, border control and maritime spatial planning.

Croatia, on the other hand, argues that the Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to rule in the present case given that it is not really about the application and interpretation of EU law. According to Croatia, the dispute in this case refers to the interpretation and application of international law and therefore it should be resolved by applying international law and by means envisaged for the peaceful resolution of disputes, including negotiations.

If the Court rules that the case does not fall within its jurisdiction, the case is automatically terminated. If it declares that it has jurisdiction, or partial jurisdiction, a hearing on the substance of the action will be held, after which the Court will hand down its ruling.

More news about the border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia can be found in the Politics section.