Slovenia Pledges Support for Croatia’s EU Bid, as Maritime Dispute Continues
Slovenia Pledges Support for Croatia’s EU Bid, as Maritime Dispute Continues

Summary/Abstract: The only former Yugoslav republic to have made it into the EU thus far, Slovenia, also became honorary president of the 27-nation bloc on January 1. The six-month rotating presidency offers a good opportunity for countries, especially the smaller ones, to make their voices heard and to gain prominence in the area of foreign affairs. Slovenia, which will be succeeded by perennial European powerhouse France in June, is however overseeing things at a time which most would find exquisitely undesirable: that is, the moment when Kosovo’s Albanian majority are threatening to declare independence from Serbia, and when Greece is threatening to veto Macedonia’s NATO accession hopes at the alliance’s April summit in Bucharest. Along with trying to navigate these rather weighty and tortuous issues, little Slovenia has longstanding interests closer to home that it would like to see rectified, which have recently resulted in some acrimonious rhetoric between Slovenian and Croatian politicians. However, while the tone of diplomatic communication has been strained over the past few weeks, a more positive note was struck today following a meeting in Munich between Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs Gordan Jandrokovic and his Slovene counterpart Dimitrij Rupel.

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