Bay of Piran: why is Juncker silent?
In 2017 a court of arbitration ruled that most of the Bay of Piran belonged to Slovenia. But because Croatia refuses to recognise the ruling Slovenia lodged a complaint with the European Court of Justice in July. So far, however, EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, who from a legal point of view should side with Slovenia, has remained silent on the issue. Slovenian media vent their anger.
Something fishy going on
Not just the fact that the EU Commission has said nothing so far sets off alarm bells for Večer:
“Also the fact that the German chancellor's staff in Berlin and Brussels have said nothing on this affair is worrying. According to experts the EU Commission doesn't make any decisions without Germany's blessing. At the moment only the Commission's official spokespersons have said anything. And these are officials who are paid to talk in the name of their superiors when they don't want to say anything. When only the official spokespersons are making statements that generally means something fishy is going on.”
The law will prevail in the end
According to the German magazine Der Spiegel Juncker is flouting the advice of his legal department, which favours accepting the ruling of the arbitration tribunal and siding with Slovenia. The EU Commission is exhibiting double standards on the rule of law, Dnevnik writes angrily:
“If the Commission wants to encourage Hungary and Poland to implement the rule of law with a semblance of political pragmatism, it mustn't forget the the western Balkans. ... The Brussels whistleblower [who leaked the confidential document of the legal department] has delighted all the Slovenian politicians who view new negotiations on the border dispute with Croatia as a thorn in their side. ... In a legal procedure the EU Commission won't be able to maintain a view that diverges from that of its legal department.”