Ambassadors of former Yugoslav republics based in Slovenia believe that Slovenia is an indispensable link in the integration of their countries into the EU. The diplomats, gathered for a panel in Koper on Wednesday, also agreed that a stable SE Europe was a guarantee to the stability of the Union as a whole.
The panel, hosted by the Faculty of Humanities, was also attended by Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, who said that Europe assigned Slovenia the task of overcoming the distance separating it from Greece, by integrating Balkan countries into the Union.
According to him, Slovenia wants to take part in the process also due to its interests, financial in particular. The costs of the Schengen regime on the border with Croatia will be substantial, which is why the country is keen for the EU to extend across its eastern border.
Moreover, Rupel believes that problems such as Kosovo can only be resolved in the "European context", which is why the EU must not close its borders. Rupel said he would not rule out the possibility of close strategic partnership with Croatia, the first of the countries in the region that is expected to join the EU.
Croatian Ambassador Mario Nobilo warned against a possible deadlock in membership negotiations with Croatia, saying this could be dangerous for the EU. He believes that reform weariness that would result from this would also rub off on other candidates considering that the date of their full-fledged membership would be put off further into the future following a delay in Croatia's membership.
Nobilo thanked Slovenia for advocating an early launch of negotiations. This is being threatened by Croatia's failure to hand fugitive general Ante Gotovina over to the Hague Tribunal.
On the other hand, Ambassador of Serbia-Montenegro Ranko Milovic highlighted good cooperation between his country and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. The country therefore expects Brussels to give it a positive assessment on the feasibility of its membership of the EU.
Milovic underscored the need for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina and voiced the hope that the EU would accept the outcome of a referendum on the independence of Montenegro, due early next year.
Haris Hrle of the Ljubljana-based Bosnia-Herzegovina embassy complained of the fact that his country was landlocked and that its people were "ghettoised" in that they need a visa to travel to any of the EU member states. He thanked Slovenia for its help in the efforts to relax visa regimes.
Macedonia's Ambassador Iljaz Sabriu quoted the role of the Albanian ethnic minority in politics and the name of the country, which Greece refuses to accept, as the main problems in Macedonia's progress towards the EU. Sabriu also said he would like to see more Slovenian investment in the Macedonian economy.
The panel was also attended by the Chairman of the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce Jozko Cuk, who said current trade between Slovenia and other former Yugoslav republics was far bellow former levels. While it amounted to 63% twenty years ago, it now reaches only 18%.
Slovenian business representatives wish for all the countries in the region to join the EU as soon as possible as that would facilitate a free flow of capital, Cuk explained.
As Slovenia is satisfied with the operation of its business clubs in those countries, Cuk called on the former Yugoslav republics to open such clubs in Slovenia themselves. According to him, the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia-Montenegro is to open its office in Ljubljana at the end of the year.
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