Zagreb - Sabor Speaker Gordan Jandroković and his Slovenian counterpart Urška Klakočar Zupančič agreed on Wednesday that the outstanding issues between Croatia and Slovenia should be addressed "constructively" and in the spirit of the existing good-neighbourly relations.
During a press conference after their meeting in Zagreb, Klakočar Zupančič expressed her wish for the two neighbours to intensify negotiations on the still unresolved issues, which primarily affect the population in border areas.
"I am happy that both parliaments will encourage the settlement of these issues so that we can take a step forward," said Klakočar Zupančič.
During the meeting, the two officials agreed that the remaining open issues should always be approached constructively and in the spirit of good-neighbourly relations, making sure that "they do not affect the existing quality of bilateral relations and are aimed at solutions that are acceptable to both sides."
Jandroković and Klakočar Zupančič discussed improving the status of the Croatian minority in Slovenia and the Slovenian minority in Croatia. Jandroković highlighted "certain limitations" in the Slovenian constitution, which recognises only two minorities as autochthonous – local Italians and Hungarians.
"We insist that the status of Croats in Slovenia should improve year by year. A part of the Croats living in Slovenia are an autochthonous minority, and we will continue to talk about ensuring that the status of Croats is such that their language and culture are protected, and of course, in compliance with Slovenia’s domestic legislation, that they have the maximum possible rights," Jandroković told the press.
Jandroković and Klakočar Zupančič met for the third time in the past 15 months, and they described the relations between the two countries as friendly, and in many areas, "partner-like."
Jandroković mentioned that Slovenia is Croatia’s third-largest trading partner, and that in 2023, the trade exchange amounted to over €7 billion.
"Slovenians are the second-largest group of travellers in Croatia. In the first ten months of the year, 1.6 million tourists from Slovenia visited Croatia, which confirms the trend of growth and excellence of our overall relations," said Jandroković, who also announced a meeting of the parliamentary friendship groups next year.
Klakočar Zupančič thanked Croatia for the solidarity shown when Slovenia faced natural disasters.
"First, after the great fire in Kras in 2022, and then last year when the floods occurred, you didn’t hesitate and immediately came to our aid... Let us be aware that we are neighbours and will always help each other, and therefore I believe we will take a more active approach to resolving the open issues we still have," she said.
Jandroković and Klakočar Zupančič visited the Advent in Zagreb on Tuesday evening.