Austrian Official Causes Stir with Statements About Austrian State Treaty
By claiming that Slovenia was not a party to the Austrian State Treaty Speaker of the Austrian Parliament Andreas Khol drew a sharp response from the Slovenian public and authorities. He said that Slovenia can act as the guardian of the Slovenian minority in Austria, but not on the legal basis of the Austrian State Treaty.
According to Khol, Slovenia can do so in line with the European constitution and the cultural agreement between Slovenia and Austria. In a response to these statements, the Foreign Ministry lodged a sharp protest with the Austrian government, expressing the hope that this was a lapse by the Austrian official. The ministry said it did not doubt Slovenia's legitimacy to succeed the Austrian State Treaty, signed by the former Yugoslava, regardless of the fact that it did not formally issued a note of succession to the treaty. The ministry highlighted that the Russian Federation, which keeps the document, had recognised Slovenia as a party to the treaty. State Secretary for Slovenians Abroad Franc Puksic meanwhile said that the essential point was that Austria did not respect Article 7 of the Treaty, which speaks about the protection of the Slovenian minority. Puksic added that this way Austria was setting itself the question whether it is still a state, as its statehood is based on this treaty. Puksic also said that Khol should be reminded that Slovenia has assumed all treaties signed by the former Yugoslavia that concern Slovenia by adopting the basic constitutional charter on its sovereignty in the early 1990s. The statements also drew sharp responses from the opposition parties, the Slovenian minority and the Austrian Greens and the Austrian Socialists (SPOe).
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