Everything you need to know about the 30 years litigation between Slovenia and Croatia.
In 2 minutes.
In 1991, the independence of Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina marked the end of Yugoslavia. Therefore, what were previously federal borders became international borders. Rapidly, Slovenia claimed the whole Piran bay and a corridor through Croatian waters to directly access the international waters. Also, the river marked in blue is considered as the border (until the grey line) with Croatia, but Slovenia contests it and requires some lands in the south of it. But changing the border on the land for a few meters automatically changes the angle chosen to determine the borders in the sea and as a consequence reduces the water territory of Slovenia’s neighbors. Croatia refused not only for the territory loss, but also because of its territory disputes with Serbia: they had to be uncompromising on both sides.
Until then, no solution has been found. Croatia refused in block while Slovenia, a EU member since 2004, blocked Croatia’s adhesion to the EU by using its veto rights. In 2008 Croatia asks for an international arbitration. One year later, the prime ministers of both countries met to find a bilateral solution: on 2010, Slovenian agreed by referendum for the international arbitration. The commission is created in 2012 and the process started in 2014.
However, in 2014, Croatia’s president said his country would leave the arbitration after the revelation of secret conversations between a judge and the Slovene representative on the tribunal. The Slovenian judge revealed to the representative of the Slovenian government that 75% of the water of the Gulf would be awarded to Slovenia (Link). Croatia left the arbitration in 2015.
When better is good’s enemy
On Monday 3 July, the international arbitration tribunal rendered its judgment: the most part of claimed waters now belong to Slovenia, but it didn’t get the access to international waters. Croatia, in return, got some borders corrections and a mountain peak, but it chose not to accept the ruling.
In other words, Slovenia didn’t get access to the international waters, had to give some territories away and aggravated its relationships with its neighbor. Croatia lost the most part of the Bay of Piran and put itself into trouble with the EU.
Therefore, comments flogged. Some see what happened as a EU failure because “the will to solve Southeast Europe problems is [therefore] diminishing- and the conviction that it is wrong to bring these problems into the EU is growing”. On the contrary, for others, the fact that the major countries in the EU and the world supported the tribunal is the sign of a success of the law: in the end, Slovenia has proper borders now. (Link)
Since July, the issue got trickier. Here’s why:
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