Table Of ContentContributions to Political Science
Thomas Bickl
The Border
Dispute Between
Croatia and
Slovenia
The Stages of a Protracted Conflict and
Its Implications for EU Enlargement
Contributions to Political Science
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/11829
Thomas Bickl
The Border Dispute Between
Croatia and Slovenia
fl
The Stages of a Protracted Con ict and Its
Implications for EU Enlargement
123
ThomasBickl
Brussels, Belgium
ISSN 2198-7289 ISSN 2198-7297 (electronic)
Contributions toPolitical Science
ISBN978-3-030-53332-8 ISBN978-3-030-53333-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53333-5
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For Albin Zupanc and Karl Bickl who have
proven that friendship can outdo war.
Preface
In mid-June 1991, Slovenia started to build checkpoints along the future interna-
tionalborderwithCroatia.Arowoverthelocationofoneoftheborderpostscould
be solved by telephone diplomacy on the eve of both countries’ declarations of
independence. Almost 30 years on, the lifespan of one generation after the dis-
memberment of Yugoslavia, the two countries were most recently involved in a
lawsuitattheEUCourtofJusticeoverwhethertheterritorialapplicationofEUlaw
required the implementation of the arbitration award from 2017 in the first place.
Howcoulditcometothis?Whathasmadethecurrentsituationsointractable?Why
is it that two countries that have never been at war apparently find it so difficult to
solve a minor territorial issue bilaterally and by diplomatic means?
Somemaybeinclinedtoassumea“conflictmindset”intheregionforhistorical
reasons, as some Western and other diplomats tend to do. Or is it that good-
neighbourlyrelationsthatarecommonplaceonalocallevelarevirtuallyimpossible
to achieve at the political level when nobody can afford to be unpatriotic?
Ifoneisinclinedtolookatthewiderpictureoftheregion,anincidentfromearly
December2016maybeworthcontemplating.ThePresidentofCroatiawasvisiting
warveteransataDubrovnikkindergartentomarkthe25thanniversaryofthecity’s
shelling by the Yugoslav Army (JNA) when she handed out chocolate bars along
withasignedphotographofherself.Thechildrenhappilyatethechocolateonlyto
findoutthatanangryparentcomplainedabouttheoriginofthechocolate—madein
Serbia—on social media. The President felt obliged to publicly apologise,
promisingtosendCroatianproductstotheparentswhosechildrenhadreceivedthe
Serbian chocolates. The event sparked a fair amount of teasing and mockery on
social media. Is “Chocolategate” perhaps more than a communication mishap?
Meanwhile,Slovenianwinemakershaveheavilyprotestedattheuseof“Teran”,
alocalgrapefromSlovenianIstriaanditsKarstregion,byproducersfromCroatian
Istria. In September 2017, the Slovenian government sued the European
CommissionforallowingTerantobeusedonthelabelsofCroatianwinemakers,a
derogation that the Commission had endorsed a few months earlier (the EU Court
ofJusticedismissedtheSlovenianclaiminSeptember2020).Havewewitnesseda
trade war between Slovenia and Croatia over a grape variety which has been part
vii
viii Preface
ofthegeographicalregionofIstriaformorethan600yearsirrespectiveofpolitical
borders?
Many Slovenes goonholidayinCroatia during thesummer, and many citizens
on both sides of the border are uncomfortable with the border dispute over what
they see as a trivial question. Politicians, on the other hand, have used the border
dispute in election campaigns, both in Slovenia and Croatia, and there is a lot of
patriotic language to go with it.
However, what is at times purely nationalist rhetoric seems largely incompre-
hensibletomanylocalsandobserversalike.Croatia andSloveniaweretogetherin
the same political unit for 70 years: during the Habsburg era, during the period in
whichYugoslaviawasruledbyamonarchyandduringtheperiodwhenYugoslavia
wascommunist.Nevertheless,SloveniaandCroatiaarerelativelyyoungStatesand
this is perhaps why borders matter. However, both countries are now members
of the European Union, where borders could be seen as administrative-territorial
rather than political. After all, contemporary Europe strives for a close union
between its peoples where internal borders have until recently become more
symbolicratherthanfunctionaldespitethemajordisruptiontothestatusquoduring
the migration and coronavirus crises.
Thisbookre-constructsthedevelopmentofthebilateralborderconflictbetween
CroatiaandSlovenia.Theaimistorevealtheprocessesatwork,thehistoricaland
contemporary circumstances, what the actors in the conflict did, at what moment
theydidit,andwhytheydidit.Inaddition,thispieceofresearchaimstohighlight
the role of the European Union and of judicial third parties in the management
of the conflict. Lastly, the book will look at the precedent-setting value of the
Slovenian–Croatian conflict, the attempts at resolving it and what this means for
ongoing and prospective EU enlargement in South-East Europe.
In the scorching heat of late July 2015, this author would go on early morning
runsfromSavudrijaontheCroatianmouthofPiranBaytoSečovljebythesaltpans
on the Slovenian side. Stops had to be made, passing the border checkpoints back
and forth at one of the most stunning sections along the former Parenzana railway
path from Trieste to Poreč. As it happened, the arbitration procedure between
Croatia and Slovenia to settle the common State border imploded the very same
week. And this was the moment the idea for this book was born.
Brussels, Belgium Thomas Bickl
Acknowledgements
This book would not have come into being without the considerable amount of
support provided by a number of individuals. From an academic perspective, I am
highly indebted to Profs. Susanne Pickel and Michael Kaeding at Duisburg-Essen
University for the supervision of my doctoral research. Susanne and Michael’s
availability,expertguidance,andparticularlyhelpfulsuggestionswereoutstanding.
I wish to thank my fellow postgraduates at Susanne’s seminar, in particular Toralf
Stark and Wiebke Breustedt, for their clever reflections, and Jutta Wergen for her
support. Special thanks go to Prof. Dejan Jović at Zagreb University for the
inspirationalchatsondomesticpolitics,EUissuesandthelegacyleftbytheformer
Yugoslaviaintheregion.ForearlyacademicinspirationonEuropeanUnionissues,
I am particularly grateful to Isabelle Canu and Thomas Fischer. I would like to
thank Johannes Glaeser and Irene Barrios-Kežić at Springer for their helpful sug-
gestions and impressive availability throughout the entire publication process. My
appreciation also goes to Julian Hale and my brother Martin for reading my
manuscript.
ThenumerousinterviewsIhadtheprivilegetoconductwereextremelyfruitful,
andeveryoneproved remarkablyopen,keen,andsupportive.Iamhighlyindebted
toallinterviewees(listedattheendofeachchapter)fortheirreadinesstotalktome
and for providing both specialist expertise and invaluable anecdotal and docu-
mentaryevidence. Many civil servants, who must remainanonymous accordingto
the rules of the game, have given me a great deal of enlightening insight into the
secret workings of national, intergovernmental, and supranational diplomacy
behind the scenes, which I greatly appreciate. It has been enormously rewarding
and a true privilege to be on this process-tracing journey, meeting so many gifted
and passionate people with strong views on what they do or did.
I have benefitted immensely from experiencing the wonderful support and
inspiration from Damir Arnaut, Shakuntala Banerjee, Filip Boras, Elmar Brok,
Daniel Brössler, Helene Bubrowski, Božena Bulum, Agata Byczewska, Giuseppe
Cataldi, Hannelore Crolly, Andrea Čović-Vidović, Vladmir-Đuro Degan, Moritz
Dütemeyer,FlorianEder,UrošEsih,TanjaFajon,DetlefFechtner,Jean-LucFeixa,
ix
x Acknowledgements
Damir Fras, Angela Franz-Balsen, Tina Freyburg, Theo Georgitsopoulos, Markus
Grabitz, Mitja Grbec, Oliver Grimm, Marek Hannibal, Per Heister, Frank
Hoffmeister, Helge Holleck, Stephan Israel, Marion Jeanne, Nataša Jovović, Lada
Jurica,MatíasKambič,ThomasKirchner,MilicaKotur,ThomasKrings,AnaLaća,
Ulrich Ladurner, Stefan Leifert, Felix Leinemann, Stephan Löwenstein, Alen
Legović, Janez Lenarčič, Pedro Lopez, Marko Makovec, Bianca Matković, David
McAllister,AndrejaMetelko-Zgombić,AnaMilošević,TanjaMiščević,Alexander
Mühlauer,WernerMussler,NiklausNuspliger,AlexOude-Elferink,MartaOsojnik,
DorisPack,AdrianaVincencaPadovan,AugustinPalokaj,JasnaParo,AlojzPeterle,
AntonijaPetričušić,AnaPolakPetrič,BerndPosselt,MargheritaPaolaPoto,Boštjan
Pucelj,SebastianRamspeck,FilipRaunić,OlliRehn,PeterRiesbeck,EugenSandu,
Goran Šaravanja, Mario Sestito, Christoph Schiltz, Leo Šešerko, Katarina
Sinadinovska, Mojca Širok, Tina Štrafela, Lina Stenlund, Mateja Štrumelj Piškur,
Jure Tanko, Nina Tavčar, Antti Timonen, Aleksandra Tomasić, Katharina von
Tschurtschenthaler, Sandra Veljković, Delia Vlase, Boris Vlašić, Marko Vrevc,
Slavko Vukadin, Petra von Wüllerstorf, Aleš Weingerl, Michael Weiss, Irena
Zagajšek,PeterŽerjavič,andthetwopolicemenIhappenedtomeetatprobablythe
best and definitely the most inspiring Istrian restaurant (just off Kaldanija). My
appreciationalsogoestoIvoBrekaloandStipeKnezovićfortheirfantastic“foodfor
thought”(quiteliterally) along theway. Iam highly indebted to all ofyou.
I gratefully acknowledge the permission given by the International Boundaries
Research Unit (IBRU), Durham University, UK, to reprint the maps entitled “The
Free Territory of Trieste” and “United Nations Protected Areas in Croatia 1992–
1995” in Chap. 2, given by the University of Chicago Press to reprint the map
entitled“TheJulianRegionandborderchangesbetween1866and1954”inChap.2,
givenbythePermanentCourtofArbitrationtoreprintthemapentitled“IMOTraffic
SeparationScheme 2004with designated sea lanes toandfrom Koper”inChap.6
andtoreprintthetwooriginalsofthe2009ArbitrationAgreementinAppendixA,
and given by the Camera dei deputati of the Italian Parliament to reprint the map
“Fisheries Zone Italy-Yugoslavia” in the same Chapter. Further, I am grateful for
the permission given by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the
Republic of Croatia to reprint note verbale 55/2016 in Appendix B, and by the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia to reprint the English
translationandtheinitialledSlovenianoriginalofthedraftbilateralagreementfrom
2001 (Appendices C and D).
Above all, I would like to thank my parents and my brother for their unlimited
faith in my abilities, and Mila, Lorenz, and Karla, who have had to cope with me
living in a parallel universe for a number of years.
Brussels Thomas Bickl
September 2020
