By: Sara Kovač / Nova24tv.si
Tanja Fajon, the leader of the SD, soon after taking office as Minister of Foreign Affairs, began to condition the arbitration on entry into Schengen. But now, it seems, she has miraculously changed her mind. “Schengen, or the abolition of borders, is the best New Year’s gift to Croatia. It is a historic moment and an important turning point that will positively change the lives of people along the border, who will now be able to move and travel freely,” she said now.
During the time of the previous government, when Anže Logar was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, we had really excellent relations with neighbouring countries. Tanja Fajon, however, began to unnecessarily tighten relations with Croatia shortly after taking office. Indeed, Fajon emphasised the importance of clear and transparent rules for entering the Schengen area and added that she should strive for Croatia to become part of the mentioned area as soon as possible, but for this, among other things, it would be necessary to implement the arbitration verdict, she insisted.
As expected, Fajon’s claim was met with a sharp reaction from Croatia, as Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlić Radman pointed out that their country’s entry into the Schengen area has nothing to do with the state border or the arbitration verdict and expressed the hope that even after the change of power, mutual relations would remain good. He expressed his belief that Croatia’s entry into Schengen is in Slovenia’s interest.
Fajon created the impression that she has never made Croatia’s entry conditional
As we can see, Fajon miraculously changed her mind at some point. So, we could see her recently at the Obrežje/Bregana border crossing, where she took part in the ceremony for Croatia’s entry into the Schengen area and into the euro area, which was hosted by the Croatian Prime Minister, Andrej Plenković. She said that Schengen, or the abolition of borders, is undoubtedly the best New Year’s gift to Croatia. “It is a historic moment and an important turning point that will positively change the lives of people along the border, who will be able to move and travel freely from now on,” she added and congratulated the Croatian citizens.
In her speech, Fajon said that now Slovenia, which a few days ago also celebrated the 15th anniversary of its entry into Schengen and is said to have always supported Croatia’s efforts, is no longer guarding the external border of the European Union. “However, I believe that this will not reduce the security of the connection,” she said, adding that Schengen does not work fully and, in her opinion, needs revision.
On October 22nd, 2019, the European Commission already made the decision to give the green light for Croatia’s Schengen membership. At the time, the president of the largest opposition party, Janez Janša, emphasised that it is in the strategic interest of our country to move the Schengen border to Croatia as soon as possible. “Slovenia should help Croatia control the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and not block it,” he pointed out. As it seems, Fajon just came to the realisation that not all positions should be changed just because it was advocated by the previous government. In his role as Prime Minister, Janša emphasised that Slovenia undoubtedly supports Croatia’s entry into the Schengen area, as it is a step that strengthens security in Europe. After all, it is clear to all of us that our country does not have enough police officers to guard the border with Croatia, and on top of that, the current government made everything even more difficult when it announced the demolition of the fence that would have prevented arrivals.