CROATIAN AMBASSADOR SAYS U.S. SHOULD BECOME MORE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LJUBLJANA 000178

SIPDIS

EUR/CE, EUR/SCE, EUR/ERA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN HR SI
SUBJECT: CROATIAN AMBASSADOR SAYS U.S. SHOULD BECOME MORE
INVOLVED IN DISPUTE WITH SLOVENIA

Classified By: CDA Brad Freden, reasons 1.4(b,d)

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Svjetlan Berkovic, Croatian Ambassador to Slovenia,
made a pitch to CDA on June 29 for greater U.S. involvement
in getting Croatia's EU accession talks back on track.
Citing the example of Slovenia's ratification of Croatia's
NATO membership, "which ran through Washington," Berkovic
expressed the view that U.S. pressure would convince Slovenia
to allow Croatia's accession talks to resume. Out of concern
for regional stability, he averred, the US should get more
involved in solving the dispute. CDA responded that the U.S.
wants Croatia in the EU as soon as possible and believes that
the Rehn process offers the best hope for doing that. We
have made this clear recently in Ljubljana, Zagreb and
Brussels. In doing so, the U.S. is already playing a larger
role, not in support of a particular outcome on the
border-demarcation issue, but in support of Rehn and thereby
of Croatia's rapid EU accession. The U.S. sees the Rehn
process as the only game in town, and we will support our
allies Croatia and Slovenia as they move toward an agreement.
In the end, both sides are going to have to sell any
agreement to their respective publics, and this will require
strong political leadership in both Zagreb and Ljubljana.
END SUMMARY.

Political Atmosphere "Poisoning" Otherwise Good Relations
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2. (C) Ambassador Berkovic, who requested the meeting, began
on a positive note, highlighting recent joint celebrations of
Slovenian and Croatian independence as well as the 13 percent
increase in Slovene tourists to Croatia from 2008 to 2009.
He stressed, however, that the political atmosphere could
"step by step poison everything else," no matter how good the
day-to-day relationship. Berkovic noted that, for the first
time in his four months in Ljubljana, he is "not optimistic"
about making progress on the border dispute. He worried that
Slovenia's blockade is hardening public sentiment, causing
people in both countries to move toward "right-wing
solutions." He claimed that this shift in public opinion
could halt or significantly slow down needed reforms in
Croatia.


3. (C) Berkovic speculated that the approach of tourist
season, and a correspondingly slow news time, could present a
challenge for relations. One small incident, he said, such
as a car accident or a disagreement between fishermen in
Piran Bay, could get sensational treatment in the media,
leading to further hardening of positions. He pointed to the
recent media commentary on the violation of Slovenia's
airspace by two Croatian fighters escorting the Chinese
president to Zagreb as an example of a "minor incident"
becoming a big deal once the media learned of it.


Regional Consequences
--------------


4. (C) Berkovic asked for greater US involvement in the
situation, as he feared the EU would not bring sufficient
attention to the problem. He dismissed EU efforts as
ineffectual, reciting a catalog of EU proposals during the
1990s that failed until the U.S. got involved. In a region
known for instability, Berkovic said Croatia's EU accession
will set the tone. If Slovenia ends its blockade, Croatia
would pave the way for other western Balkan countries to join
the EU; but if the Slovenia-Croatia dispute sets a precedent,
noted Berkovic, each new entrant will use the accession
process as leverage over its neighbors who are next in line.
He cited Croatia's negotiations with Montenegro as a
successful example, as the two countries agreed to
arbitration through the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
at the Hague over a disputed peninsula. Berkovic stated that
Slovenia, unlike Montenegro, is "afraid" of the ICJ because
"international law is clear" and Slovenia would not get "even
one-third of what they want" based upon international law.

Sticking with Rehn, Getting to Yes
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5. (C) CDA acknowledged Berkovic's request for more U.S.
involvement, and reiterated the U.S. position of focusing on
getting Slovenia and Croatia to agree on a process for
resolving the border dispute. While the U.S. does not have
any substantive position on how or where to draw the border
itself, we do not want to see the Rehn process break down.
CDA also speculated that the Swedish EU Presidency might be

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more active on this issue than was the Czech, and said the
U.S. would support this. He argued for quiet diplomacy away
from the media spotlight, citing as unhelpful Slovenia's
public characterization of Croatia as having walked away from
negotiations. Berkovic noted that Croatia had not "walked
away" from Rehn, but had only indicated it could not accept
the changes submitted by Slovenia to Rehn's previous text.
He did not dispute CDA's assertion that the differences
between the current text and the text approved by the
Croatian parliament in May were "cosmetic." However, he
expressed concern about the timing of lifting Slovenia's hold
on the accession chapters should they reach agreement. CDA
explained our support for re-starting the accession process
upon signature of an agreement. It appeared that
parliamentary ratification would be necessary on both sides
for legal or political reasons, but this should not hold up
the resumption of accession talks.
FREDEN