Director General Leigh showed particular interest for Croatia’s current relations with Slovenia and Italy, as he deems they to a large extend affect the negotiations dynamics due to certain unresolved open issues. State Secretary Biščević reported on the progress in negotiations with the Italian Republic regarding the reciprocity guarantees for the Croatian citizens in accessing the real estate market and the continuation of the dialogue on paying the rest of Croatia’s debt to Italy, pursuant to the Osim Agreements. As regards the relations with the Republic of Slovenia, State Secretary Biščević pointed out that Croatia cannot accept the fact that solving the remaining open bilateral issues conditions and questions the context of the EU negotiations. Director General Leigh confirmed that the EU has clear and unchangeable positions on that and does not get involved in solving bilateral issues, adding that suitable understanding needs to be reached with Slovenia about the open issues during Croatia’s EU negotiations.
The two also talked about the current situation in the South Eastern Europe, especially in view of the forthcoming discussions on the future status of Kosovo and the elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Both sides expressed interest for the democratic processes in the region to continue and for the consistent respect of the Contact Group’s principles on the unrelatedness of the Kosovo issue with any other territorial integrity in the region. As regards the situation in and the perspectives for Bosnia and Herzegovina after the elections, Director General Leigh confirmed the need for the international community and the High Representative to maintain their engagement, especially in reconstructing the dialogue on the future constitution and meeting the criteria of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.