(ZAGREB) - Croatian President Stipe Mesic advised Slovenia on Thursday not to block his country's European Union membership bid, warning such a move could seriously harm ties between the two neighbours.

"If Slovenia prevents our entry into the EU by persistently insisting on its attitudes, it will be a disaster for our future relations," Mesic said.

Such a scenario would mean that any "friendship between Slovenia and Croatia is over for good," he added.

The Croatian president is to have an informal meeting on Friday with his Slovenian counterpart Danilo Turk, for the first time since Turk was elected in November.

Asked by journalists what he expected from the talks, scheduled to be held in Slovenia, Mesic emphasised they would be informal to give them a greater chance of success.

Croatia accuses Ljubljana of using its current six-month term in the EU presidency to press Zagreb over unsolved bilateral issues. Slovenia has rejected the charges.

Since the two former Yugoslav republics declared independence in 1991, they have been unable to resolve a number of bilateral issues, notably their common sea-border.

The issue is linked to a disputed Croatian fishing and ecological zone.

The zone to protect fishing stocks, which was enforced by Zagreb on January 1, is strongly opposed by the EU, mainly Croatia's Adriatic Sea neighbours Italy and Slovenia.

Brussels repeatedly warned Zagreb that imposing the zone would have negative consequences on its ambitions to join the bloc, which it hopes to do by the end of the decade.

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