Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic, who attended a Slovenian parliament session which ratified Croatia's Treaty of Accession with the European Union in Slovenia's parliament on Tuesday morning, thanked Slovenia and its legislators for the unanimous ratification.
The ratification of the document in Slovenia's 90-seat legislature required a two-third majority, and during today's sitting, all 82 deputies in attendance voted in favour.
"My thanks to MPs in the Slovenian parliament for their unanimous support for the ratification of Croatia's accession treaty," Milanovic said after the parliamentary session.
He also thanked the previous Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa with whom he had cooperated in efforts to find a settlement for the Ljubljanska Banka issue and models to compensate customers of the now-defunct bank who had deposits in the LB branches in Croatia during the time of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Milanovic said that they had found a solution for which "we know that it is good for both countries". "We have much in common", the Croatian premier said, commenting on the relationship between the two neighbours. "I cannot see a better interlocutor than Slovenia in the years to come," he added.
Slovenia's Prime Minister Alenka Bratusek, who recently succeeded Jansa, said that Croatia had come a long way during which there had been obstacles "but we have removed them successfully through dialogue".
"Today's ratification and unanimous vote are the proof that Slovenia is pursuing a pro-European policy of coexistence and solidarity," she said.
She also noted that Croatia's entry into the European Union would also remove many administrative barriers and reinforce the economic cooperation between Croatia and Slovenia.
"I am glad to see that Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic is my first guest, which is also evidence of good relations between the two countries," Bratusek said and thanked her predecessor Jansa, PM Milanovic and other officials of the two countries for their assistance in the process of ratification of Croatia's EU treaty in the Slovenian legislature.
Parliament Speaker Janko Veber said that the unanimous vote showed that Croatia's admission to the EU was important not only for Croatia but also for Slovenia.
"Croatia has come a long way towards the EU, and today's act in the Slovenian parliament is important so that the remaining EU countries that have not yet ratified the treaty, will do so soon," Veber told the press.
He also expressed hope about the continuation of the deepening of Slovenia-Croatia relations in many areas. "We wish you luck on the path towards the EU," Veber said.
