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Slovenia to Apply for Full EU Membership LJUBLJANA, June 7 (Reuters) - Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said on Friday Slovenia would apply for full membership of the European Union on Monday after signing an association agreement with the 15-member bloc. "I will sign the agreement myself (in Luxembourg)...and I will formally apply for full membership of the EU," Drnovsek told a news conference. Drnovsek said Slovenia had faced obstacles in reaching an association agreement, which had been blocked by neighbouring Italy in a dispute over property rights. Italy slowed down the EU association agreement with Slovenia, initialled a year ago, because the former Yugoslav republic had refused to hand back state-owned property confiscated from ethnic Italians who fled after Italy's defeat in World War Two. Italy last month lifted its objections after Slovenia pledged to bring in legislation to allow foreigners to own real estate within four years of an association agreement taking effect. Any bilateral problems were to be cleared up later. The Slovenian prime minister said he appreciated Britain's decision to make an exception to its current policy of non-cooperation with the EU over Europe's worldwide ban on British beef exports, by not blocking the agreement. Slovenia is the first of the successor states of former Yugoslavia to sign an EU association agreement Nine other ex-communist countries have already signed similar agreements -- Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria. "The association agreement is an important element of stability in this part of the world," Drnovsek said. Slovenia fought a brief 10-day independence war against the Yugoslav federal army in June 1991 but avoided much of the bloody warfare that later engulfed the other former Yugoslav republics of Croatia and Bosnia. EU association agreements are trade and cooperation pacts that carry with them the promise of eventual EU membership. Slovenia hopes to become a full member by the year 2001. The EU is Slovenia's major trading partner and accounts for about 70 percent of its total foreign trade.

SloWWWenia Guide to Virtual Slovenia
Ljubljana A Guide to Slovenia’s Capital
Slovenia Office of the President
Slovenia Embassies and Consulates

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