VZCZCXRO0306
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVB #0762 3051452
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 311452Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY ZAGREB
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8740
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS ZAGREB 000762 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL HR SI EUC
SUBJECT: CROATIA EU NEGOTIATIONS HIT A SLOVENIAN-MADE BUMP 
IN THE ROAD 
 
REF: ZAGREB 000734 
 
¶1. (U) The French EU Presidency and the EU Commission hosted 
a meeting on October 30 in Brussels regarding Croatia's EU 
negotiations, at which Croatia was only able to provisionally 
close one negotiating chapter, "External Relations." 
According to both Croatian and EU sources in Zagreb, Slovenia 
blocked an EU consensus on the opening of four additional 
chapters -- "regional policy", "environment", "free 
circulation of capital", and "justice, freedom, and security" 
-- as well as the provisional closure of "trans-european 
networks" chapter. 
 
¶2. (U) Slovenian officials claimed that because its new 
government had not been officially formed and its newly 
constituted European Affairs Parliamentary Committee -- whose 
guidance informs Slovenia's actions in this regard -- had not 
yet convened, the outgoing caretaker government was unable to 
green-light the opening and closing of additional chapters. 
However, at least one Slovenia diplomat publicly acknowledged 
that Slovenia may have significant reservations about 
allowing Croatia to move forward on chapters that, in their 
view, bear on the ongoing bilateral border dispute (reftel). 
Slovenia, in the past, has indicated that it would block all 
chapters in which Croatia's negotiating position include 
reference to an exclusive Croatian ecological zone in the 
Adriatic or contain any references that could pre-judge the 
border dispute, even as Croatian negotiators insist that they 
have carefully avoided any such references in formulating 
their negotiating positions. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Croatian officials have publicly sought to play down 
this development, urging that bilateral issues be excluded 
from Croatia's EU negotiations, but arguing that Croatia's 
negotiations were going well.  The Croatia delegation 
stressed that they were sparing no effort to complete 
negotiations and working to quickly meet all benchmarks 
specified by the EU.  The Croatians are hoping to receive a 
"roadmap" by the EU Commission in November that specifies a 
rough timeframe for the conclusion of accession negotiations 
by the end of 2009.  According to Croatian media reports, 
early drafts of the upcoming progress report regarding 
Croatia's progress toward EU membership are promising that 
such a roadmap will be forthcoming. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The chapters in question are not the most difficult 
for Croatia in terms of the legislative effort needed to 
complete them.  Croatian officials say that even if there is 
a several month delay in the formal opening of these 
chapters, they can still be concluded before more challenging 
chapters, such as competition policy, are likely to be 
complete.  Therefore, yesterday's events alone should not 
derail the Croatian goal of wrapping up negotiations next 
year.  However, Croatian MFA officials have privately 
expressed to us their anger and frustration with the outgoing 
Slovenian government's decision to block progress on these 
chapters.  Croatian officials fervently hope the new 
Slovenian government will abandon the former government's 
approach of what both Croatian and EU contacts in Zagreb 
portray as an effort to use the EU process to put pressure on 
Croatia to resolve the border dispute.  END COMMENT 
Bradtke