• by IPS Correspondents (brussels)
• Thursday, November 17, 1994
• Inter Press Service

BRUSSELS, Nov 17 (IPS) - The European Commission is ready to mediate in the conflict between Slovenia and Italy -- which is blocking Ljubljana's negotiations on an association agreement with the European Union.

Slovenia is linking Italy's boycott of its membership application with the alleged territorial ambitions of extreme right forces in the Berlusconi government towards the former Yugoslavia.

European Commission spokesman Nico Wegter said Thursday: "If bilateral talks between the two governments should fail, external affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek has offered to mediate between the two parties."

Ambassador Boris Cizelj, head of the Slovenian mission to the European Union, welcomes the initiative -- although he is pessimistic whether Van Den Broek would actually be able solve the problem.

"External trade Commissioner Leon Brittan, who was on a official visit to Slovenia at the end of September, tried to bring the two parties together and that unfortunately turned out to be impossible," Ambassador Cizelj said.

The core of the problem is the claim of the Berlusconi government that property belonging to Italians who left Yugoslav territory under duress after 1945 should be returned.

The disputed formerly Italian territory in the northwestern coastal part of Slovenia -- known as Istria -- now belongs to Croatia and partly to Slovenia.

According to ambassador Cizelj that property was partly sold before the Italians left and what was not sold was later nationalised by the former Yugoslavia.

In 1957 the Italian and Yugoslav governments made a property agreement on Slovenia -- the so-called 'Osimo Agreement' -- which was superseded in 1983 by the Rome Treaty.

These two agreements appeared to have sorted out all the questions of the state border between Italy and Yugoslavia as well as the question of property and compensation for the former owners of property. However, with the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, Italy refused to receive further compensation from Slovenia and Croatia because they are two successor states.

"Slovenia was trying very hard to get a bank account in Italy where we could continue with the payment of the compensation but the Italian government said they want to discuss the entire territorial matter again," the Slovenian ambassador said.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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