Slovenia's Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec has said in the Slovenian parliament that he expected his country and Croatia to soon reach agreement on the remaining outstanding issues after which Ljubljana would initiate the process of ratification of Croatia's Treaty of Accession to the EU.
Answering questions from members of the Slovenian parliamentary foreign affairs committee on Wednesday, Erjavec said that Slovenia had not yet received Croatia's explanation about the Croatian government's conclusions which reportedly supported lawsuits filed by Zagrebacka Banka and Privredna Banka Zagreb against the now-defunct Ljubljanska Banka pertaining to Croatian depositors' savings in that bank.
"We expect the matter to be solved in line with our expectations and the obligations which Croatia has assumed. There is no need for panic. Slovenia's position is clear. It (the savings) is a matter to be resolved as part of succession (to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)," Erjavec told the committee.
He expressed hope that a meeting of the two countries' governments, expected to be held by mid-2012, would result in finding models for solving the remaining outstanding issues.
After that, Slovenia may embark on the process of ratification of Croatia's accession treaty with the European Union, according to the minister.
According to the Slovenian media, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic may hold an informal meeting with his Slovenian counterpart Janez Jansa after attending commemorations in tribute to victims killed in the wake of World War Two in Tezno, Slovenia, next Tuesday.
