Italian, Slovenian FM Agree to Reinforce Cooperation

[Strengthandhonour]

Italian, Slovenian FM Agree to Reinforce Cooperation

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema and his Slovenian opposite number Dimtrij Rupel agreed on Wednesday, 10 January that the two countries would set up a working group for common energy, transport and environmental issues.

The pair also discussed minority issues, with D'Alema assuring Rupel that Italy would enforce its minority protection act as soon as possible and that minority issues should no longer pose a problem.

Rupel told the press that the talks had touched on some sensitive issues, which are viewed by him and his counterpart as challenges rather than problems.

He said they were united in the view that Italy needed to implement its minority protection act.

The members of the joint Parity Board must be appointed and the board needs to compile the list of the Italian municipalities for which the act is to be enforced, Rupel said.

D'Alema explained that he was a proponent of the act during the reign of Prime Minister Giuliano Amato's government, which went on to adopt the law in 2001 - just prior to Silvio Berlusconi's ascent to power.

"We regret that it has not been enforced fully," the Italian minister said while announcing that the Italian side would "cooperate with the Slovenian community in order to achieve this as soon as possible".

D'Alema meanwhile voiced concern over certain problems that the Italian minority has been facing in Slovenia, notably concerning TV shows in the Italian language. Rupel on the other hand feels that the minority is well taken care of in Slovenia.

The ministers said they devoted a lot of attention to enhancing cooperation in the fields of energy, transport and environment. One of the first measures will be the formation of a working group tasked with drawing up a joint strategy in the area.

D'Alema assured that the two governments would also cooperate transparently in debates about Italy's plans to build two gas terminals in the Gulf of Trieste.

Noting that in the EU it was not possible for countries to behave at home as they pleased, D'Alema compared Slovenian concerns about Italy's gas terminal with Italy's views on the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant, Slovenia's lone N-plant.

"I am convinced that the two countries will focus on the future," D'Alema added.

The pair also touched on historical issues, including the "optanti" - Italians who left former Yugoslav territories following WWII.

According to D'Alema, who assured the press that Italy had no intention of erasing the role of Fascism, the events preceding and following the Second World War had a profound impact on life in this part of Europe.

Whereas Rupel said Slovenia viewed the issue of optanti as resolved, D'Alema suggested a new angle should be taken on an issue "that we intend to solve".

Noting that the basic guidelines for resolving the issue go back to 1983, D'Alema added that Croatia should also be included in the process.

The pair moreover discussed European issues, foremost the EU constitution. Rupel pointed to the fact that both Slovenia and Italy had ratified the document and that it was in their interest that the effort put into the treaty would not be time wasted. "We both want stronger European institutions," Rupel said.

Rupel and D'Alema are also in favour of an EU that would include the Western Balkans. Speaking about the future of Kosovo, they noted that things could get more complicated after the upcoming elections in Serbia, but added that these were tasks and challenges that the countries were ready to help resolve.

Rupel expressed great satisfaction with D'Alema's visit, the first visit by an Italian foreign minister in five years, whereas D'Alema said that the meeting presented "the beginning of a more intense cooperation".

D'Alema began his visit on Tuesday, 9 January by symbolically crossing on foot the square dividing Italy's Gorizia and Slovenia's Nova Gorica to later meet with representatives of minorities from both sides of the border.

The first to receive him on 10 January was Parliament Speaker France Cukjati, with whom he focused on the need to include the Western Balkans into the EU.

He also met with the members of the parliamentary Foreign Policy Committee, who handed to D'Alema an initiative calling on Italy to return works of art that were confiscated in Slovenia at the beginning of World War II.
Source: Slovene Press Agency STA


source: Slovenia Business Week