Keywords
Croatia
bilateral relations
cooperation
open issues
European Union
How to Cite
Abstract
This article looks at the impact of EU membership on the bilateral relations between Slovenia and Croatia. The analysis centres around policy issues of conflict and cooperation and how they were accentuated, contained, processed, or boosted by the EU membership of both countries. Further, the EU accession process of Croatia and Slovenia is scrutinized as to its implications on bilateral issues and the lessons learnt for EU enlargement in the Western Balkans with regard to the resolution of bilateral disputes.
References
Arnaut, Damir (2002): Stormy Waters on the Way to the High Seas: The Case of the Territorial Sea Delimitation Between Croatia and Slovenia. Ocean and Coastal Law Journal, 8, 1, 21–70.
Barić, Mate, Orovič, Josip, Šango, Leonardo & Mateo Pedišić (2021): Energy Efficiency of Container Cargo Flow in Largest East Adriatic Ports. Pomorski zbornik, 61, 2, 35–43.
Bartlett, Will (2023): The Drivers of EU Financial Assistance to the Western Balkans: Economic, Altruistic or Democracy Promotion Motives? In: Uvalić, Milica (ed.): Integrating the Western Balkans into the EU. Overcoming Mutual Misperceptions. Cham, Springer, 25–54.
Basheska, Elena (2022): EU Enlargement in Disregard of the Rule of Law: A Way Forward Following the Unsuccessful Dispute Settlement Between Croatia and Slovenia and the Name Change of Macedonia. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 14, 222–256.
Bičak, Darko (2023): Dok Krško proizvodi struju iznad plana, Ljubljana traži ulagače za drugi reaktor. Poslovni dnevnik. https://www.poslovni.hr/hrvatska/dok-krsko-proizvodi-struju-iznad-plana-ljubljana-trazi-ulagace-za-drugi-reaktor-4399701 (last access: 2023-07-19).
Bickl, Thomas (2021): The Border Dispute Between Croatia and Slovenia. The Stages of a Protracted Conflict and Its Implications for EU Enlargement. Cham, Springer.
Bickl, Thomas (2023): Territorial Disputes in the Post-Yugoslav Space: Nationbuilding Between Identity Politics and International Law. Političke Perspektive, 13, 1, 97–127.
Bieber, Florian (2014): Introduction. In: Bieber, Florian, Galijaš, Alina & Rory Archer (eds.): Debating the End of Yugoslavia. Ashgate, Routledge, 1–7.
Brzozowski, Alexandra (2023): ‛Friends of Western Balkans’ Push for More Cooperation with Region on EU Foreign Policy. https://www.europeanbusinessreview.eu/page.asp?pid=7010 (last access: 2023-01-13).
Bučar, Maja & Boštjan Udovič (2023): The Slovenian Perception of the EU: From Outstanding Pupil to Solid Member. Comparative Southeast European Studies, 71, 3, 388–411.
Cataldi, Giuseppe (2013): Prospects for the Judicial Settlement of the Dispute Between Croatia and Slovenia Over Piran Bay. In: Boschiero, Nerina, Scovazzi, Tullio, Pitea, Cesare & Chiara Ragni (eds.): International Courts and the Development of International Law. Cham, Springer, 257–268.
DER SPIEGEL (1990): „Wir wollen souverän sein“. Interview with Franjo Tuđman. https://www.spiegel.de/politik/wir-wollen-souveraen-sein-a87d06941-0002-0001-0000-000013501079 (last access: 2024-08-16).
Dolenec, Danijela (2013): Democratic Institutions and Authoritarian Rule in Southeast Europe. Colchester, ECPR Press.
Euronews (2024): Croatia’s Ruling Conservatives Embrace Far-right Party in New Government. https://www.euronews.com/2024/05/09/croatias-ruling-conservatives-embrace-far-right-party-in-new-government (last access: 2024-05-09).
European Commission (1997): Commission Opinion on Slovenia’s Application for Membership of the European Union. https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/73208bd9-732e-44c8-ab7c-914f822a1aa0/language-en (last access: 2024-08-16).
European Commission (2017): Minutes of the 2219th meeting of the European Commission in Strasburg, 4 July 2017.
European Commission (2022): EU Solidarity with Slovenia in Combating Wildfires. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_4642 (last access: 2024-08-16).
Freyburg, Tina & Solveig Richter (2010): National Identity Matters. The Limited Impact of EU Political Conditionality in the Western Balkans. Journal of European Public Policy, 17, 2, 263–281.
Geddes, Andrew & Andrew Taylor (2016): Those Who Knock on Europe’s Door Must Repent? Bilateral Border Disputes and EU Enlargement. Political Studies, 64, 4, 930–947.
Hina (2023a): Plenković o kaznama za ribare Slovenije i Hrvatske: „Sugerirali smo oblik pragmatičnog rješenja na džentlmenski način“. Dnevnik, 18 March 2023. https://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/hrvatska/andrej-plenkovic-razmatrase-ponistenje-kazni-ribarima-slovenije-i-hrvatske%2D%2D-773759.html (last access: 2024-08-16).
Hina (2023b): Slovenian PM Thanks Croatia for Assistance in Flood Response. Dnevnik, 6 September 2023. https://www.sabor.hr/en/press/news/slovenian-pmthanks-croatia-assistance-flood-response (last access: 2024-08-16).
Hojnik, Janja (2016): Slovenia v. Croatia: The first EU Inter-state Case Before the ECtHR. EJIL:Talk!, 17 October 2016. https://www.ejiltalk.org/sloveniav-croatia-the-first-eu-inter-state-case-before-the-ecthr/ (last access: 2024-08-16).
International Atomic Energy Agency (1974): Information Circular. The Texts of the Instruments Concerning the Agency’s Assistance to Yugoslavia in Establishing a Nuclear Power Facility. 8 November 1974. https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/infcirc213.pdf (last access: 2024-08-16).
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (2015): HEP v. Slovenia Hrvatska Elektroprivreda d.d. v. Republic of Slovenia, ICSID Case No. ARB/05/24. https://jusmundi.com/en/document/decision/en-hrvatska-elektroprivreda-d-d-v-republic-of-slovenia-award-thursday-17th-december-2015 (last access: 2024-08-16).
Jović, Dejan (2008): The Slovenian-Croatian Confederation Proposal in 1991: A Tactical Move or an Ultimate Solution? In: Cohen, Lenard & Jasna Dragović-Soso (eds.): State Collapse in South-Eastern Europe: New perspectives on Yugoslavia’s disintegration. West Lafayette, Purdue University Press.
Jović, Dejan (2023): Imagining Europe in a New and Small state: The Case of Croatia. In: Uvalić, Milica (ed.): Integrating the Western Balkans into the EU. Overcoming Mutual Misperceptions. Cham, Springer, 121–142.
Jović, Dejan (2023a): Interview ad personam. Belgrade. Notes held by the author, 22 October 2023.
Kaeding, Michael & Udovič, Boštjan (eds.) (2024): Slovenia and the EU. 20 Years of Membership in Perspective. Cham, Springer.
Kamberi, Donika (2023): An Overview of the Dispute Between North Macedonia and Bulgaria Through the Optic of International Law. Justicia, 19–20, 11, 69–75.
Kežić, Danijel (2011): The Belgrade–Bar Railway 1952–1976: History of Financing the Largest Infrastructure Project in Socialist Yugoslavia. Istraživanja, 22, 455–476.
Korolija, Aleksa & Cristina Pallini (2020): The Highway of Brotherhood and Unity as a Cross-Cut Into the Yugoslavian Epic. Histories of Post-War Architecture, 3, 6, 93–120.
Koska, Viktor & Ana Matan (2017): Croatian Citizenship Regime and Traumatized Categories of Croatian Citizens and Croatian Defenders of the Homeland War: Serb Minority. Croatian Political Science Review, 54, 1–2, 119–149.
Kus, Zoran (2023): Aktivni nosilci energetskega prehoda in ne zgolj pasivni zasledovalci. Večer, 21 October 2023. https://vecer.com/v-soboto/analiza-aktivni-nosilci-energetskega-prehoda-in-ne-zgolj-pasivni-zasledovalci-10342583 (last access: 2024-08-16).
Levičar, Danijel (2023): Interview by phone. Notes held by the author, 21 November 2023.
McGarry, Brian (2020): Republic of Slovenia v. Republic of Croatia. American Journal of International Law, 115, 1, 101–107.
Meier, Viktor (1995): Wie Jugoslawien verspielt wurde. München, Beck.
Ministry of the Economy and Sustainable Development of the Republic of Croatia (2023): Hrvatska i slovenska strana na redovnom sastanku međudržavnog povjerenstva NEK-a. Press Release, 2 October 2023. https://mingor.gov.hr/vijesti/hrvatska-i-slovenska-strana-na-redovnom-sastanku-medjudrzavnogpovjerenstva-nek-a-9418/9418 (last access: 2024-08-16).
Ministry of the Environment, Climate, and Energy of the Republic of Slovenia (2023): [Internal note on] JEK2 [future reactor at Krško nuclear power station], October 2023.
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia (2024): MVEP Welcomes ECHR Decision that Croatian Courts did not Violate Slovenian Fishermen’s Rights When Fining Them for Illegal Border Crossing and Fishing. 17 May 2024. https://mvep.gov.hr/press-22794/mvep-welcomes-echr-decisionthat-croatian-courts-did-not-violate-slovenian-fishermen-s-rights-when-finingthem-for-illegal-border-crossing-and-fishing/272422#:~:text=The%20Ministry%20of%20Foreign%20and,Protection%20of%20Human%20Rights%20and (last access: 2024-08-16).
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia (2024): Statement by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs on the ECtHR Decision in the Case of Slovenian Fishermen. 16 May 2024. https://www.gov.si/en/news/2024-05-16-statement-by-the-ministry-of-foreign-and-european-affairs-on-the-ecthr-decision-in-the-case-of-slovenian-fishermen/ (last access: 2024-08-16).
Myrick, Rachel (2021): Do External Threats Unite or Divide? Security Crises, Rivalries, and Polarization in American Foreign Policy. International Organization, 75, 4, 921–958.
N1 (2021): Slovenia Ratifies €1.3m Border Bridge Project Shared with Croatia. 20 December 2021. https://n1info.hr/english/news/slovenia-ratifies-e1-3m-borderbridge-project-shared-with-croatia/ (last access: 2024-08-16).
Petrović, Milenko & Garth Wilson (2021): Bilateral Relations in the Western Balkans as a Challenge for EU Accession. Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 29, 2, 201–218.
Pirjevec, Jože (2018): Tito and His Comrades. Madison, Wisconsin Press.
Radić Milosavljević, Ivana & Miloš Petrović (2024): EU Enlargement Policy Between the Chronological Precedence of the Western Balkans and the Geopolitical Urgency in the Eastern Neighbourhood: a Realist Perspective. Političke Perspektive, 24, 1, 33–63.
Radosević, Boris (2022): Plenković na konferenciji o klimatskim promjenama: Spremni smo za drugi blok NE Krško. Tportal, April 22, 2022. https://www.tportal.hr/vijesti/clanak/foto-video-plenkovic-na-konferenciji-o-klimatskim-promjenama-spremni-smo-za-drugi-blok-ne-krsko-foto-20220422 (last access: 2024-08-16).
Ramet, Sabrina (2006): The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918–2005. Washington D.C., Woodrow Wilson Center Press.
Ramet, Sabrina (2008): Confronting the Past: The Slovenes as Subjects and as Objects of History. Družboslovne razprave, 24, 58, 29–44.
Roese, Neil & Kathleen Vohs (2012): Hindsight Bias. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7, 5, 411–426.
Sancin, Vasilika (2010): Slovenia-Croatia Border Dispute: From ‘Drnovšek–Račan’ to ‘Pahor–Kosor’ Agreement. European Perspectives, 2, 2, 93–111.
Senior Croatian Civil Servant (2023): Interview by phone. Notes held by the author, 23 December 2023.
Senior Slovenian Civil Servant A (2023): Interview ad personam. Ljubljana. Notes held by the author, 4 July 2023.
Senior Slovenian Civil Servant B (2023): Written interview. Notes held by the author, 19 November 2023.
Schimmelfenning, Frank (2023): The Advent of Geopolitical Enlargement and Its Credibility Dilemma. In: Džankić, Jelena, Kacarska, Simonida & Soeren Keil (eds.): A Year Later: War in Ukraine and Western Balkan (Geo)politics. San Domenico di Fiesole, European University Institute (EUI), 185–193.
SPIRIT (2023): Blagovna menjava med Slovenijo in Hrvaško 2017–2023. https://www.izvoznookno.si/drzave/hrvaska/poslovno-sodelovanje-s-slovenijo/ (last access: 2024-08-16).
STA (2024): TEŠ posts nearly EUR 46m loss last year. 3 September 2024. https://english.sta.si/3338554/tes-posts-nearly-eur-46m-loss-last-year (last access: 2024-08-16).
STA (2023): Croatian Fishermen to Turn to Human Rights Court. 14 June 2023. https://english.sta.si/3181983/croatian-fishermen-too-turn-to-human-rightscourt (last access: 2024-08-16).
SURS (2024): In July 2024, Electricity Generation Was on Par With July 2023. 26 August 2024. https://www.stat.si/StatWeb/en/News/Index/13051 (last access: 2024-08-16).
Stavridi, Myrto (2021): Slovenia v. Croatia: A New Admissibility Criterion for Inter-state Applications Under the ECHR? EJIL Talk!, 6 January 2021. https://www.ejiltalk.org/slovenia-v-croatia-a-new-admissibility-criterion-for-interstate-applications-under-the-echr/ (last access: 2024-08-16).
Udovič, Boštjan (2011): The Problem of Hard-currency Savings in Ljubljanska banka d.d., Ljubljana: Between Politics and (International) Law. Studia Historica Slovenica, 11, 1, 185–214.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.