European Court of Justice Advocate General Priit Pikamae 11 December 2019 presented his opinion regarding Slovenia’s case against Croatia over alleged infringements of EU law caused by the non-enforcement of a border arbitration award.
Pikamae believes that the Court of Justice does not have jurisdiction in the case, confirming Croatia’s position as stated in its objection to competence, which Croatia presented arguments for at the oral hearing on 8 July 2010.
The advocate general’s opinion underscores Croatia’s view that the Court has no jurisdiction in the case because the border between the two countries is a matter of international and not national law, and that the point of the dispute is border demarcation, not the interpretation of EU law.
He also ruled out the possibility of there being a breach of the rule of law in this situation.
Croatia believes and consistently reiterates that the only resolution to the border dispute with Slovenia is to return to dialogue and bilateral talks. Only that way can we come to a mutually acceptable and lasting solution to the issue. This has been confirmed by the advocate general, who believes that the border issue should be dealt with at the political level.