Erjavec has been already informed about the decision, the prime minister's office said in a press release on Tuesday. Cerar rejects foreign minister's resignation over border arbitration.

Prime Minister Miro Cerar has rejected the resignation offer of Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec over what the minister described as "complications" in the international arbitration on the Slovenian-Croatian border. Erjavec has been already informed about the decision, the prime minister's office said in a press release on Tuesday. 1 / 1 The office quoted Cerar as saying that by offering resignation, Erjavec had shown that he was aware of the great importance of the arbitration procedure and the fact that the Foreign Ministry, for which the minister was objectively responsible, had acted inappropriately.

Despite certain elements of objective responsibility for such acts, the minister is not directly or criminally responsible for them, which is why there are no reasons for his dismissal, also considering the fact that the arbitration procedure continues, the prime minister added. The foreign minister put forward a resignation offer on Friday over what he described as "complications" regarding the arbitration process. The minister's announcement came a day after the arbitration tribunal in The Hague said it would continue with its work despite Slovenia having breached the 2009 arbitration agreement when one of its agents engaged in contacts with the arbitrator appointed by Slovenia.

The tribunal added, however, that the violations were not grave enough for Croatia to exit the arbitration agreement and for the tribunal not to be able to take a final decision independently and impartially. Erjavec said that he had been facing criticism ever since the arbitration process got complicated last year due to the contacts between the Slovenian agent and arbiter, that he was also personally responsible for this story and even that he had caused it.

The prime minister added today that it would be possible to "make a final and comprehensive assessment of the consequences of the inappropriate acts related to the arbitration procedure only after the tribunal issued a final decision." Cerar already discussed the issue on Monday on the sidelines of a Western Balkans summit in Paris, saying that he and Erjavec had talked the situation through thoroughly, and that he was presently not thinking about a restructuring of the cabinet.

Erjavec said today he was happy with Cerar's decision, noting that the explanation from the arbitration tribunal did not mention any responsibility of the foreign minister. Speaking to the press on the sidelines of today's Brexit meeting hosted by President Borut Pahor, the minister also welcomed the decision of the tribunal to continue the arbitration process. "I think that this is one of the turning points and the right moment to check the trust of the prime minister in the work of the foreign minister," he added.