Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor, who will remain in office until the appointment of a new government, will sign Croatia's EU accession treaty on Friday on behalf of Slovenia as a member of the European Union and there is no reason why he would not do it, the Slovenian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday in response to a statement by former Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel.
Rupel told a press conference in Ljubljana on Wednesday that Pahor should make his signature conditional on Croatia withdrawing its unilateral declaration, adopted at the time of signing of the border arbitration agreement between the two countries.
The declaration says that the agreement should not be regarded as Croatia's consent to the Slovenian demand for territorial contact with the open sea.
According to Rupel, if Croatia fails to withdraw its declaration, Pahor should not sign its EU accession treaty, which would open up the possibility of the two new governments settling the border dispute bilaterally, rather than through international arbitration.
The arbitration agreement is in force; it has been ratified by both countries, and Slovenia has approved it at a referendum. The government's initiative that Croatia's EU accession treaty should be signed by the incumbent Prime Minister has been approved by Parliament by a two-thirds majority, the Slovenian ministry said.
