Fajon: Plenković in EP said nothing about respecting the arbitration court on the border with Slovenia

STRASBOURG, (Patria) - The Strategy for the Western Balkans was presented today in Strasbourg, defining the steps for countries aspiring to full membership in the European Union. 

This is the first time that the European Commission has presented a detailed plan and strategy of steps expected in the near future regarding the Western Balkans. 

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said during his address that the European Union is still a community that others wish to join, particularly pointing to the six countries of Southeast Europe, "Croatia's closest neighbors, but also Turkey".

"We must fulfill the promises to candidates, as well as potential candidates, just as those countries must fulfill the given conditions and criteria, and implement the necessary reforms," Plenković said, reports the Patria agency.

He also mentioned that it has been shown that the full implementation of border control systems between member states, when only one of them is in the Schengen area, such as the case of Croatia and Slovenia or Croatia and Hungary, can be a problem for freedom of movement within the EU. Plenković stated that Croatia's next major European goal is to join the Schengen area.

Slovenian Member of the European Parliament Tanja Fajon noted that Plenković spoke about good relations with Slovenia, but did not mention at any point that Croatia does not respect the arbitration court's ruling in the dispute with Slovenia, which granted Slovenians unobstructed access to international waters in the Bay of Piran. 

"In his speech about the future of the European Union, Andrej Plenković talks about secure borders, Croatia's ambition after joining Schengen, good relations with Slovenia and Italy, and nothing about respecting the arbitration tribunal's ruling on the border with Slovenia," Fajon wrote on her official Twitter account.

Croatia does not respect the arbitration decision which ruled that Slovenia should receive a corridor to international waters through Croatian territorial waters and most of the Bay of Piran, writes Patria.

 

V govoru o prihodnosti Evropske unije @AndrejPlenkovic tudi o varnih mejah, ambiciji Hrvaške po vstopu v Schengen, dobrih odnosih s Slovenijo in Italijo, a nič o spoštovanju razsodbe arbitražnega sodišča o meji s Slovenijo? #EPlenary pic.twitter.com/veKbjzjUi9

— Tanja Fajon (@tfajon) February 6, 2018