On Monday, members of the Slovenian parliament ratified the accession protocol for Croatia’s entry into NATO with the necessary majority, with only representatives from the Slovenian National Party (SNS) of Zmago Jelinčič, representatives from the Slovenian People’s Party (SLS) of Bojan Šrot, and one independent representative voting against. Members of the ruling left-center coalition supported the ratification, which was advocated by Prime Minister Borut Pahor during his speech in parliament.
Of the 86 representatives present in the hall during the voting, 75 voted in favor and 11 against, thus the ratification received the necessary two-thirds majority. In his address to the representatives before the vote, Prime Minister Borut Pahor stated that it is not justified to make comparisons between his government’s stance on Croatia’s negotiations with the European Union and the accession process for joining NATO. These are two different processes because negotiations with the European Commission also involve adopting EU legal acquis, which is not the case with NATO, so those who claim that Slovenia should stop Croatia’s path towards NATO do not have the right to do so, said Pahor.
He denied the claims of representatives from SLS and SNS that Croatia had provided “documents and maps that prejudge the border” even in negotiations with NATO. The parliament rejected attempts by the Slovenian People’s Party to postpone the session or to accept an amendment along with the ratification stating that Slovenia “does not recognize” unilateral moves by Croatia that “changed the situation at the border compared to that of June 25, 1001,” when Slovenia had “territorial contact with open sea and control over the entire Piran Bay” and other “disputed points.”
In a statement after the law on the ratification of the accession protocol with Croatia was accepted, Pahor expressed satisfaction with this outcome. He warned of possible complications posed by the Slovenian People’s Party, which speaks of the intention to hold a national referendum on the already accepted ratification law for Croatia’s entry into the EU, which the People’s Party could force if it gathers enough signatures from representatives or enough signatures from citizens with voting rights. “I am satisfied with the outcome because Slovenian politics has done its job today, and we can be satisfied with that. If this had not happened today and the ratification had been rejected for some reason, Croatia would have had a strong argument to convince the international public that Slovenia is blocking its membership in the European Union and NATO out of mere whim. Now Croatia does not have that excuse because we have clearly separated the wheat from the chaff. Our reservations about Croatia’s accession documents for the European Union were argued and justified; for NATO, there were no such reasons,” said Pahor.
