Croatia to propose border dispute talks after Slovenian elections: PM

ZAGREB, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Croatia will propose bilateral talks on resolving the border dispute after Slovenian parliamentary elections which will be held on June 3, Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said here on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Croatia and Slovenia submitted arguments to the European Commission following Slovenia's objection that Croatia does not want to enforce a decision on border arbitration between the two states.

"Croatia does not violate either international or European law because it does not recognize arbitration. The problem, however, is not irreconcilable, and the new plan will be presented immediately as Slovenia gets a new government," said Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic.

Croatia expects the European Commission to reject Slovenian demands for arbitration and to let the two countries agree on how to resolve the dispute.

"Slovenia believes that there is a new frontier after the arbitration, and Croatia claims that the border should remain where it was after the collapse of the former Yugoslavia," said Andreja Metelko-Zgombic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs and Croatia's chief negotiator who also attended a hearing in Brussels.

Croatia and Slovenia share 667 km of land and sea borders, and the Arbitration Court in The Hague, made a decision on June 29, 2017 on the border between the two states.

Croatia withdrew from arbitration in 2015 when it was discovered that the Slovene judge in the Arbitral Tribunal Jernej Sekolec allegedly tried to influence other judges. Slovenia continues to insist on arbitration, while Croatia wants to solve the problem bilaterally. Enditem