Slovenia's top court sanctions border arbitration accord

Slovenia's constitutional court on Tuesday sanctioned an international arbitration accord on its border with Croatia, boosting its prospects of getting direct access to international waters and its neighbor's chance of joining the European Union.

The sanction by the constitutional court, the country's top court, facilitates ratification by the Slovene parliament before the accord takes effect.

Croatia has already ratified the accord, signed last November in Sweden by the two countries in what is seen as a step toward ending a nearly two-decade-old dispute between the two countries.

The border row dated back to 1991 when the then Yugoslavia broke up. The dispute left Slovenia landlocked as Croatia joined borders with Italy to cut off its access to the northern Adriatic bay of Piran. The solution, therefore, to the border dispute may require a concession from Croatia.

Slovenia, a European Union member since 2004, blocked Croatia's accession talks with Brussels for most of last year before the signing of the border arbitration accord.

Source: Xinhua