Pirangate: Croatia to Exit Border Dispute Arbitration with Slovenia

“The procedure has been contaminated. What has happened is unsustainable. Croatia will exit out of the contract, but based on international law,” Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović has said following an urgent meeting on Monday to discuss the border dispute with Slovenia which hit the headlines last week…

The Croatian government met with the nation’s leading opposition party on Monday, and after a short meeting both sides agreed that Croatia would exit out of border arbitration agreement with Slovenia.

Last week transcripts revealing that a Slovenian arbitrator and a Slovenian diplomat had discussed the case and lobbied other judges sitting on the tribunal to influence the outcome of the arbitration in Slovenia’s favour had been leaked by the media, forcing Croatia to react.

The border issue revolves around the boundary in the Gulf of Piran. Both nations agreed to international arbitration with the European Commission mediating the arbitration agreement between Croatia and Slovenia in 2009, which unblocked Croatia’s EU accession negotiation.

The two countries share about 668 kilometres of border.  According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, the border spans 670 km. The border runs in the direction from the southwest to the northeast.