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Croatia hopeful veto will be lifted in time

Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on Friday said he believed a veto blocking the progress of Croatia's European Union accession talks would be lifted in time for Zagreb to wrap up the talks by the end of this year.

  • Reuters
  • Published: 23:47 January 9, 2009
  • Gulf News

Zagreb: Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader on Friday said he believed a veto blocking the progress of Croatia's European Union accession talks would be lifted in time for Zagreb to wrap up the talks by the end of this year.

"Of course, Slovenia's veto slowed us down... However, I believe the issue will be resolved in the next weeks and months and that we will be able to complete accession talks this year," Sanader said.

Last month Slovenia blocked the progress of neighbouring Croatia's EU accession talks by imposing a veto on opening and concluding a number of negotiating chapters.

Zagreb has so far opened 22 chapters and concluded seven out of a total 35 negotiating areas.

Border dispute

Slovenia's veto is due to a 17-year-old border dispute over slivers of land and a stretch of sea border that the two nations have not settled since the collapse of Yugoslavia. While the border dispute is not part of the EU accession talks, Slovenia says it remains an obstacle for completing talks in certain policy areas, such as fisheries.

Ljubljana says Croatia's early stance in accession talks prejudges the outcome of the border dispute.

Arbitration

Zagreb denies this and insists that the dispute be resolved through international arbitration.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini will arrive in Zagreb on Monday to discuss how Italy, a neighbour to both Croatia and Slovenia, can help find a way out of the deadlock.

Many local analysts believe that if the Slovenian veto is not lifted quickly, Croatia will struggle to complete the accession talks this year.

Judiciary reform, intensifying the fight against organised crime and restructuring an ailing shipbuilding industry are among the main tasks Croatia has to fulfil this year in order to meet EU membership criteria.

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