Slovenian-Croatian Relations Hit a Snag After Journalists' Arrest
The relations between Slovenia and Croatia hit a boiling point, after Croatian police arrested and then released several Slovenian journalists in a disputed territory in the north-east of the country on Wednesday, 13 September. Following an unfulfilled announcement by Interior Minister Dragutin Mate on Saturday, 9 September, that works on levees alongside the border river Mura would continue on Monday, 11 September, the arrests sparked sharp criticism in Slovenia and in consequence in Croatia.
Following the arrests, Slovenian special police forces were deployed in the area on Wednesday, 13 September, which later dug up a road constructed by Croatia in the disputed territory. PM Janez Jansa called a meeting of parliamentary party leaders late on Wednesday at which the parties, with one exception, according to Jansa, managed to unify their position on Croatia. The Slovenian Foreign Ministry moreover protested with their Croatian counterpart and notified the EU about the incident. The Croatian Foreign Ministry responded by saying that Croatian territory was violated by Slovenian citizens and protested the politicization of the issue.
The European Commission called on Slovenia and Croatia to calm the situation and to solve the border issue on Thursday, 14 September. Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek also called on the sides to back down. The two countries managed to reach a deal on setting up a consortium of companies to maintain the levees early on Friday, 15 September, followed by a withdrawal of Slovenian and Croatian special police forces, while Javier Solana, the EU's high representative for the common foreign and security policy, assessed that Slovenia and Croatia are "mature countries" with "small problems" which they are capable of solving.
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