PM Jansa Expects Croatia to Answer Initiative Soon

Ljubljana, 30 July

The initiative on solving open issues with Croatia that Slovenia put forward recently is an internal document and more about it will be disclosed after Croatia responds to it, Prime Minister Janez Jansa told the press on Monday. He said he expected Croatia to answer soon.

According to Jansa, the government worked hard to achieve progress in relations with Croatia in the last six months. The initiative is comprehensive, dealing with all the open issues, he added. "In August and September it will become clear whether it is possible to have breakthroughs," said Jansa, who called the initiative realistic. Jansa is optimistic about the initiative's future, although he is aware that it is impossible to say in advance whether it will be successful. According to Jansa, the initiative was informally drafted almost a year ago. He explained that the government had recently formalised it and the document was also endorsed by the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee. He added that talks were also held within the coalition and with the opposition. Jansa said that many talks in the first half of the year gave an idea of possible alternatives for solving open issues. He added that both governments had the responsibility to decide together on how to resolve these issues.
Jansa however noted that Slovenia was realistic about the initiative as there would not be much working time due to the upcoming parliamentary election in Croatia and Slovenia's stint as EU president in the first half of next year, followed by parliamentary election in Slovenia.
Commenting on the opposition faced by the initiative in Slovenia and Croatia, Jansa said that it was almost certain the initiative would not enjoy full support. However, such solutions are sensible only in case of a considerable majority backing on both sides, he added.
Jansa also said that he discussed the initiative with Croatian President Stipe Mesic during a meeting held on Sunday on the sidelines of the ATP tennis tournament in Croatia's Umag. He said however that no decisions were taken

PM Jansa Expects Croatia to Answer Initiative Soon

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