Monday, 30 May 2022

Fajon: Slovenia Supports Croatia's Entry to Schengen Area

ZAGREB, 30 May 2022 - Slovenia supports Croatia's entry to the Schengen Area, Slovenia's future foreign minister Tanja Fajon said on Monday but warned that a consensus o the matter would be hard to achieve in the European Union before the Schengen policy was reformed.

Slovenia supports the expansion of the Schengen Area to Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria but it will be difficult to achieve political agreement on that, Fajon said answering questions from the parliament's foreign affairs committee.

She added that the reason for this was "mistrust" between members of the Schengen Area that emerged after the migration crisis of 2015 and 2016, which was why five Schengen Area member states, including Austria, were still conducting tighter controls on the border with neighboring countries that were not in the Schengen Area.

"Until such time that we reform the Schengen treaty, I think enlargement to the three new countries is jeopardized. I think that we first need to create powerful trust between the member states," Fajon said.

In her introductory address, in which she presented the principles based on which she will conduct Slovenia's foreign policy, Fajon said that she will advocate consistent respect for the border arbitration agreement with Croatia, as stated in the coalition agreement between the three parties that will form the new Slovenian government, headed by Robert Golob.

However, she added that she sincerely advocates the strategy of the best possible relations with Croatia, noting that Croatia's entry into the Schengen Area and the OECD is in the mutual interest of Slovenia and Croatia.

"We have a lot more common interests than differences with Croatia, and all issues can be resolved if there is political will," said Fajon.

Fajon said that Slovenia will advocate for EU enlargement to Western Balkan countries and for dialogue between Belgrade and Priština and that it will participate more actively in that process both at the European level and at the forums of regional initiatives.

She criticized the outgoing government led by Janez Janša in reference to foreign policy over the past two years, notably its "deficient" respect for independent institutions and the media, as well as its closeness to "the authoritarian regimes" in Hungary and Poland.

Fajon added that Slovenia would once again turn to the "core" EU countries with strong institutions and respect for the rule of law. In that context, she singled out Germany, but she also mentioned France and Italy.

 For more, check out our politics section.

Friday, 13 May 2022

Slovenia Will Block Croatia's Schengen Entry, Daily Says

ZAGREB, 13 May 2022 - Slovenia's new Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon is advocating that Croatia enters the Schengen Area as soon as possible, but on the condition that the border arbitration award is implemented, Večernji List daily said on Friday.

The paper quotes Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman as saying that Croatia's Schengen entry has nothing to do with the border arbitration.

According to the Slovenian STA news agency, Fajon said Schengen should be renewed as soon as possible by setting clear and transparent rules for accession.

Fajon said she was advocating that Croatia join as soon as possible and that those rules included implementation of the arbitration award which defines the Croatian-Slovenian border.

The Croatian parliament adopted a decision to irrevocably walk out of the arbitration process because it was compromised and contaminated by Slovenia's arbitrator and agent, who used illegal means to influence the process.

Slovenia, however, insisted on the arbitration, which continued and an award was delivered which Croatia does not recognise. This was why all Slovenian governments before the last one led by Janez Janša made normalisation of relations between the two countries conditional on Croatia's recognition and application of the arbitration award, which has been unacceptable to all Croatian governments.

After a two-year arbitration break during the Janša cabinet, the problem has now returned with the new government led by Robert Golob, as indicated by Fajon's statement as well as Golob, who said recently that the award remains "an anchor in Slovenia's policy on Croatia," Večernji List said, adding that this could lead to new tensions between the two countries.

For more, check out our politics section.

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