Slovenia, Croatia ready to clear way for Zagreb's EU talks
(KRANJSKA GORA) - Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor and his Croatian counterpart Jadranka Kosor said Wednesday they were ready to clear the way for Zagreb's EU membership talks next month.
"My wish is that, by the next EU-Croatia accession conference in February, we can solve at least two of the three open issues," Pahor said in a joint statement issued after a meeting with Kosor at the ski resort of Kranjska Gora.
Pahor did not specify the still open issues. But at the last EU accession conference with Croatia in December, Slovenia had been blocking three chapters -- on environment, fisheries and foreign and defence policy.
Croatia, which hopes to conclude EU accession talks this year, has so far closed 17 and opened another 10 out of the 35 negotiating chapters it needs to successfully close before being able to join the 27-nation bloc.
"I believe important steps will be made by the conference on February 19. We will work hard for that and I'm convinced we will achieve results," Kosor told journalists.
Slovenia was the first former Yugoslav state to join the EU in 2004. For almost a year, Slovenia blocked Croatia's EU accession over a border dispute.
But the two sides agreed in November to resolve the issue via an international arbitration committee.
Pahor said Wednesday that "other issues remain open and we have agreed here to create an inter-governmental commission to study and seek a solution for them."
The two prime ministers also agreed to organise a conference for other western Balkan countries wishing to join the EU.
"Such an initiative will be in the strategic interest of Slovenia as a member, as well as Croatia, which will shortly become a member, plus all the states in the region waiting to start accession talks," Pahor said.
Currently another former Yugoslav state, Macedonia, is also an EU candidate, while Albania and another two states that emerged from the former Yugoslav federation, Montenegro and Serbia, have submitted their applications.
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo have yet to take such a step.
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