Border dispute with Slovenia delays Croatia EU entry talks

The European Union has postponed an accession conference with Croatia planned for today after Zagreb failed to make progress in a border row with EU member Slovenia, the Czech EU Presidency said yesterday (23 April).

Also on Thursday, Slovenia called off a meeting between the prime ministers of the two countries.

A Zagreb government source told Croatia's state news agency Hina that Slovenia "did not suggest an alternative date or give reasons for the cancellation".

The row between the two former Yugoslav republics has held up Croatia's negotiations with the bloc because Slovenia, as an EU member state, has veto power over progress in the talks.

If the dispute is not resolved quickly, Croatia could fail to achieve its goal of finishing entry talks this year and joining the bloc in 2010 or 2011, diplomats say. They also say Zagreb is lagging behind with reforms in some key areas like the judiciary, agriculture and the ailing shipbuilding industry.

"A new date (for the conference) is to be set subject to positive development," the EU presidency said in a statement.

"The lack of headway in the negotiations on chapters that are ready to be opened and closed does not reflect the actual progress achieved on the ground by Croatia."

It added that the trio of the past, present and incoming EU presidencies - France, the Czech Republic and Sweden - had "strong conviction that an agreement allowing to proceed with the negotiations is now within reach".

Croatia and Slovenia held another round of talks with EU officials in Brussels on Wednesday and Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn came up with a fresh proposal to resolve a dispute.

According to media reports, Rehn proposed forming an ad-hoc arbitration commission for the border, which should operate on principles of international law, something that Croatia insists on.

For Slovenia's access to international waters - a key worry for Ljubljana in the dispute - arbitrators could also take into consideration what they deem to be fair and equitable, as demanded by Ljubljana.

The border dispute, dating back to the 1991 breakup of Yugoslavia, prompted Slovenia to veto large parts of Croatia's EU talks in December.