Dear all,
FYI,
[taken from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/04/croatia.slovenia.agreement/]
Croatia, Slovenia sign border dispute dealBy Simon Hooper, CNN
November 4, 2009 -- Updated 1803 GMT (0203 HKT)
(CNN) -- The prime ministers of Croatia and Slovenia signed a deal
Wednesday to settle a long-running border dispute and remove a key
obstacle to Croatia's prospects of securing European Union membership.
The agreement will see the neighbors' disagreement over the Gulf of
Piran, a source of contention since the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991,
settled by arbitration in return for Slovenia lifting its veto on
Croatia's accession to the EU.
Croatian Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor and Slovenian counterpart Borut
Pahor signed the deal in Stockholm watched by Swedish Prime Minister
Fredrik Reinfeldt, whose country currently holds the EU's six-month
rotating presidency.
Kosor said that she and Pahor had established a "close and trusting
relationship" during the negotiations and urged the parliaments of
both countries to ratify the agreement.
"Today we have not just turned a page, we have opened a whole new
book," said Kosor. "Now I hope that we will also receive the support
of our respective parliaments and that today's agreement can give new
hope to our neighbours in South Eastern Europe."
The Gulf of Piran is a 20 square-kilometer area of sea in the northern
Adriatic. Slovenia, which has less than 50 kilometers of coastline,
has long claimed sovereignty over the entire bay as its only corridor
to international waters. Croatia claims the bay should be split down
the middle.
Since Slovenia joined the EU in 2004 it has exercised its member's
right of veto over Croatia joining the political and economic bloc.
Other member states have also viewed the dispute as a bilateral
conflict that should be resolved before Croatia can move ahead with
the accession process.
"This is not only a historic day for Croatia, Slovenia and the EU, but
for the entire international community," said Slovenian Prime Minister
Pahor. "Today we have shown that we solve problems, we do not create
them."
In a statement, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn congratulated
all parties on reaching an "historic agreement."
"This is a most European way of peaceful settlement of disputes," Rehn
said. "I encourage both countries to proceed with ratification without
unnecessary delay, and hope that Croatia makes the last mile in the
negotiations, which are reaching the final stage."
cheers
Andi
--
I Made Andi Arsana
Geodesy and Geomatics, Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia
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