Croatia warns Slovenia not to block its EU bid

"Croatian President Stipe Mesic warned Slovenia on Thursday not to block his country's European Union membership bid as such a move could seriously harm ties between the two neighbours.

'If Slovenia prevents our entry into the EU by persistently insisting on its attitudes, it will be a disaster for our future relations,' Mesic said.

Such a scenario would mean that any 'friendship between Slovenia and Croatia is over for good,' he added.

The Croatian leader is to have an informal meeting on Friday with his Slovenian counterpart Danilo Turk, for the first time since Turk was elected in November.

Asked by journalists what he expected from the talks, scheduled to be held in Slovenia, Mesic emphasised they would be informal to give them a greater chance of success.

Croatia accuses its northern neighbour of using its current six-month term in the EU presidency to press Zagreb over unsolved bilateral issues. Slovenia has rejected the charges."

Source: EUbusiness.com

Slovenia under US influence?

"Mitja Drobnic has withdrawn as director in the Slovenian Foreign Ministry after the minutes of a private discussion between himself and a top US diplomat were revealed. The document gave the impression that Slovenia, which holds the EU Council presidency, would take its cues from the USA regarding the Kosovo issue. Antisa Korljan comments: 'It's no surprise that a scapegoat was found in the ministry. To some extent, Drobnic was the logical choice, because his name alone comes up in close connection with the minutes of the meeting."

Source: Courrier international

Slovenian diplomat quits after report of US meddling in EU presidency

"The Slovenian foreign ministry announced the resignation of a top Slovenian diplomat Tuesday who press reports claimed had taken orders from the United States about Slovenia's EU presidency.

The Foreign Ministry announced on its website that political director Mitja Drobnic had resigned and would be replaced by state secretary Matjaz Sinkovec during Slovenia's six-month term as EU president.

Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel 'has accepted the resignation of political director Mitja Drobnic', the ministry said in a statement.

The resignation comes after a report in the daily newspaper Dnevnik last week which said that Slovenia had been taking orders from the US.

According to the newspaper, which quoted an internal foreign ministry report, Drobnic had met in December with US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried, who allegedly suggested to the Slovenian side what their priorities should be during the EU presidency.

Fried encouraged Slovenia to be among the first to recognise the independence of the breakaway Serbian province of Kosovo, the newspaper claimed."

EUbusiness.com

Slovenian Press Freedom

"The director of the International Press Institute, Johann Fritz, warned in an official statement that 'business contacts and stock ownership should not be used by the government to influence independent media into publishing positive articles.'

But Grah, the Vienna correspondent for Delo, said there are now only two papers -- Dnevnik and Mladina -- that are not subject to state influence. Those news outlets are suffering from a lack of advertising, however. Big companies have pulled their ads from the critical newspapers, costing them a significant portion of their revenues.

In order to answer the critics, the Ministry of Culture funded a study at the University of Ljubljana, on press freedom. The researchers found that the reporting in Slovenian papers was even-handed, but sociologist Matej Makarovic, who conducted the research, found that the government and other political parties had tried to influence it."

Source: Deutsche Welle

Slovenian parliament ratifies Lisbon Treaty

"The document, which was endorsed in a 74-to-6 vote, is to ensure efficient operation of the enlarged European Union and strengthen its role in the world, the Slovenian news agency STA reported.

The endorsement has already been welcomed by Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa, who told the MPs earlier on Tuesday that all 27 EU countries needed to ratify the treaty in order for it to enter into force.

Jansa said the treaty included the majority of the contents but not the form of its ill-fated precursor, the constitutional treaty, which was rejected at referenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005.

One of the basic points of the new document is increasing the role of deciding by a qualified majority on the back of consensus-based decision making.

The treaty also omits a direct reference to constitutionality, which caused fear among the French and Dutch that the EU was changing into a super state. No article of the treaty also mentions EU symbols, such as its flag or national anthem."

Source: Xinhua

Slovenia's debut EU presidency marred by row over press freedom

"Two journalists who launched a petition at the end of last year accusing the government of political meddling, which was signed by 571 Slovenian journalists, said yesterday that they still want an independent inquiry. Their campaign has been backed by the International Press Institute (IPI) and the European Federation of Journalists, which said in a statement: 'Slovenia has failed the first test of leadership in Europe by failing to show that it is prepared to deal openly and honestly with serious questions over its own record on dealing with media and journalism.'

'There is continuing pressure on journalists,' said Matej Surc, a radio journalist who initiated the petition along with his newspaper colleague Blaz Zgaga.

In addition to direct censorship – the newspaper Vecer has pinned censored articles on an office wall known as the 'bunker' – the government of the centre-right Prime Minister, Janez Jansa, is accused of indirectly influencing the media through exploiting business relationships with companies that have financial holdings in media interests."

Source: Independent.co.uk

European Commission pledges support to Slovenian presidency priorities

"European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallstroem said on Tuesday the commission 'fully supports Slovenia's presidency priorities' during its term at the helm of the 27-nation bloc in the first half of the year.

Wallstroem made her statement at Brdo pri Kranju in suburban Ljubljana, where a meeting was being held between the European Commission and the rotating EU presidency Slovenian government.

Wallstroem, who led the visiting delegation in the absence of commission President Jose Manuel Barroso who is ill with the flu, said the goal for 2008 was to have a 'Europe of results.'

In a joint press conference with Wallstroem, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said the 'substantive talks' examined the key issues facing the Slovenian presidency, including the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, the energy-climate talks, implementation of the Lisbon Strategy, the Western Balkans and intercultural dialogue.

'Today excellent cooperation has been established between the Slovenian government and the European Commission,' Jansa said after the first session of meetings.

According to Jansa, Slovenia's presidency will tailor its activities in order to provide for the smooth ratification of the recently-signed EU reform treaty, a key goal of the presidency. He said the goal was to have the document in force by Jan. 1, 2009."

Source: Xinhua