Croatian Ambassador Summoned to Foreign Ministry

Ljubljana, 19 March

Croatia's Ambassador to Slovenia Mario Nobilo was summoned to the Slovenian Foreign Ministry on Monday for talks about his recent statement that Croatian citizens were not allowed to buy real estate in Slovenia. The ministry refuted the claim and Nobilo told STA that the two countries were very close to resolving the issue of reciprocity.

Nobilo told the Sunday edition of Croatian daily Jutranji list that four Croatians had failed in their attempt to buy real estate in Slovenia and that Croatia was not allowing Slovenians to buy real estate in Croatia because Slovenia was also failing to do so.
State Secretary at the Foreign Ministry Andrej Ster rejected Nobilo's claim, pointing out that the Slovenian authorities had already issued the first rulings establishing reciprocity and allowing the purchase of real estate in Slovenia to Croatian citizens.
Nobilo said that while the legislation of both countries allowed for reciprocity, the details of the procedure still needed to be determined.
According to Nobilo, the two sides have exchanged several notes in recent months in which they provided an interpretation of their legislation and procedures. "I think we are very close to getting to the content of reciprocity on both sides and to finally resolve this issue," Nobilo wrote.
He added that as the interest to legalise and buy property in the other country was much bigger in Slovenia, it made sense that the procedure of establishing reciprocity began in Slovenia.
Jutranji list also noted on Sunday that while around 3,000 Slovenians were allegedly waiting to be allowed to buy real estate in Croatia, Zagreb supposedly first wanted to make sure whether Slovenia's legislation in fact allowed for the sale of property to Croatian citizens.
The issue of reciprocity in buying real estate has so far been overshadowed by the failed attempts by Slovenia and Croatia to resolve their border issue. It was brought up again by Prime Minister Janez Jansa on the sidelines of the March EU summit in Brussels.
Jansa said that the border issue between Slovenia and Croatia was not of key importance for Croatia's EU bid. Croatia has to meet very strict demands from individual negotiating chapters, including on opening its real estate market, he said.
According to Jansa, Slovenia has a problem with Croatia regarding real estate, while the issue is not solely bilateral. Croatian citizens can and do buy real estate in Slovenia, while not a single Slovenian had managed to acquire land in Croatia, Jansa said.

Croatian Ambassador Summoned to Foreign Ministry

More articles from this issue:

Archive