There has not been an example in the last decades of a country which would go though accession talks and get broad support but then see its accession hindered by one member state, the S&D head said.

According to him, the EU expects Slovenia and Croatia to deal with their open issues in a way that will not hinder the ratification of Croatia's accession treaty. The responsibility of politicians should be to make sure things go in that direction regardless of their domestic political situation.

But Swoboda is "completely sure" that a solution will be found. If Slovenia failed to ratify Croatia's treaty, this would be bad not only for the EU and Croatia, but foremost for Slovenia, he believes.

He pointed out that all open issues that can be solved now should be closed before Croatia joins the EU, but that they could also be solved later.

Regarding the issue of the defunct LB bank, Swoboda said that an agreement on the matter could not be merely political but that a legal framework and court decisions would also need to be taken into consideration.

The S&D head also commented on the findings of the Corruption Prevention Commission regarding PM Janez Janša. He pointed out that these were only accusations and suspicions of corruption but that Janša should nevertheless do something about it.

He noted that in a similar situation Positive Slovenia (PS) head Zoran Janković "made a step back" regarding his active role in the party.

According to Swoboda, politicians cannot ignore such accusations. "There were times when Slovenia lived well and was managed well and Mister Janša was not the prime minister," he said, adding that politicians should not see themselves as more important than their country or party.