SLOVENIA/CROATIA ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO UNBLOCK EU

C O N F I D E N T I A L LJUBLJANA 000286 NOFORN SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/10/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV EUN HR SI SUBJECT: SLOVENIA/CROATIA ANNOUNCE AGREEMENT TO UNBLOCK EU ACCESSION TALKS AND RESOLVE BORDER ISSUE Classified By: CDA Brad Freden, reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (U) Slovenian PM Pahor and Croatian PM Kosor announced in Ljubljana on September 11 an agreement to resume talks on their border dispute and to remove Slovenia's hold on Croatia's EU accession negotiations. As part of the agreement, Kosor sent a letter to the Swedish EU presidency stating that no document included in Croatia's accession package would prejudice settlement of the border issue; the letter also indicated that no document or act after 25 June 1991 (the date both countries declared independence from Yugoslavia) would be prejudicial to the process. Pahor said the two sides will resume talks on the border issue based on the June 15 Rehn proposal. ¶2. (C/NF) Comment: The announcement represents a political and diplomatic win for both sides, as Pahor's efforts on other domestic and foreign policy issues had come to a halt pending progress on the border issue. The wildcard remains the reaction of Janez Jansa and his SDS party. As Zoran Thaler, former Foreign Minister and newly-elected EU parliamentarian from Pahor's SD party, told CDA today, if Jansa says the agreement is fine, it will proceed through parliament; if Jansa expresses reservations, it could well founder. CDA sent a message to Jansa today urging him to support the agreement and place the issue above politics. End Comment. FREDEN