7

Cerar: Slovenia prepared to take legal proceedings to implement arbitration ruling

Prime Minister Miro Cerar has announced that in trying to convince Croatia to respect the arbitration ruling on the Slovenia-Croatia border, Slovenia will use all legal and political means available, including legal proceedings.

"If Croatia continues to ignore the decision of the international tribunal, we'll use all legal and political means to persuade our neighbor, Croatia, to respect the decision," Cerar said in an interview for commercial broadcaster, POP TV, in mid-September. The Prime Minister also expects the international community and the European Commission to help; "I believe that the international community will also contribute its share." He considers it normal that, at this stage, the Commission expects Slovenia and Croatia to come to agreement on the implementation of the ruling themselves. If this does not happen, the Commission will have to do "what is European - [for] the respect of the law and agreements". "If the EU or any EU Member State forgets or ignores this, then the EU has no future...," the Prime Minister stressed.

Erjavec concerned about fighters returning to Western Balkans

Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec has warned of the potential threat of foreign fighters returning from Syria and Iraq to the stability of the Western Balkans, addressing an informal EU ministerial in Tallinn, in early September, that also included ministers from candidate countries.

The ministers discussed the fight against terrorism, radicalisation and violent extremism, with Erjavec noting that many young people from the Western Balkans had gone to fight for the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. With the militant group losing the ground war, these fighters are likely to return home soon. "This could pose a potential threat for the stability of the Western Balkans," Erjavec told STA, over the phone, from Tallinn. In his address to the meeting, the Slovenian Minister also called for unity in the approach to the combat against radicalism and extremism, as well as Slovenia's initiative for a positive agenda for youth in the Western Balkans. The initiative seeks to positively influence the young people who are more susceptible to radicalisation, in particular those whose prospects are poor.

At the Bled Strategic Forum (4-5 September), Erjavec and Fathallah Sijilmassi, Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), agreed that the initiative should be expanded to the Mediterranean which faces similar problems. To discuss the way to prevent youth radicalisation, Slovenia plans to organise a conference in cooperation with UfM.

New act in force on the reciprocity of real estate purchases by foreigners

New provisions governing reciprocity in the acquisition of real estate in Slovenia by non-EU foreigners have entered into force, simplifying procedures and reducing red tape. The changes replace a 1999 Act, which had never been amended although other regulations that affect reciprocity had changed requiring the 1999 legislation to be amended, the government said when it presented the bill last February.

Most notably, the authorities will now only check reciprocity when necessary, not for each case as was required in the old law. For example, it is not necessary to determine reciprocity if a foreigner already owns a portion of the real estate in question.

Similarly, if reciprocity with a given country has been confirmed for the same type of real estate in the same area, it will not be necessary to check it again.

Red tape for buyers is being reduced, for instance access to the e-land registry, foreigners no longer have to provide statements about the purpose of their purchase or need special documents by the Surveying and Mapping Authority about the specifics of a property.

The new act also abolishes the obligation of parliament to get acquainted with the list of decisions on reciprocity every six months. The list will be published by the Justice Ministry on its website.