Italian Senate Officials Visits Slovenia

The delegation of the Italian Senate foreign affairs committee, headed by chairman of the committee Fiorella Provera arrived in Slovenia at the invitation of Slovenian parliamentary foreign policy committee chairman Jelko Kacin on Monday, 4 November. Bilateral relations, the EU expansion, and the role of NATO were topping the agenda in talks between members of Slovenia's parliamentary foreign affairs committee and a delegation of the Italian Senate foreign affairs committee.

Efforts to boost co-operation between the Italian and Slovenian parliaments in the frame of EU and NATO expansion headed the talks of the Italian Senate foreign affairs committee with the Speaker of the Slovenian Parliament Borut Pahor. Italian officials also met with Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel and Europe Minister Janez Potocnik.

Pahor welcomed EU and NATO expansion processes, saying that these will among other things open the door to new opportunities in Slovenian-Italian relations, Pahor's office said. As the office added, the issue of improving co-operation and understanding between the parliaments has been discussed by Pahor and his Italian counterpart Pier Ferdinando Casini during a number of informal meetings.

Pahor also took the opportunity to outline Slovenia's expectation that the Italian parliament will reject the proposed reduction of funds intended for institutions of the Slovenian minority in Italy when it discusses the government financial document. Pahor thought that the Italian government's proposal to cut funds for the minority is against the act on the protection of the Slovenian minority.

Rupel and Provera also talked about bilateral relations and touched on the funding of minority organisations, according to the Foreign Ministry. Provera is said to have informed Rupel that the Italian government will allocate the necessary funds that are envisioned in the minority protection act. In general, the two officials assessed bilateral relations as good, especially in the economy.

According to the chair of the Slovenian committee Jelko Kacin, no issue important for the bilateral relations was left out during the talks. He also told a news conference that the visit of the Italian delegation is very valuable, as Slovenia enters the final phase of its accession towards the EU and NATO.

As Kacin pointed out, Italy is Slovenia's biggest neighbour and the only neighbouring country that is a member of both the EU and NATO. Therefore its assistance in Slovenia's bid for the two international organisations is of great value, according to Kacin.

Chairman of the Senate committee Fiorello Provera meanwhile said that Italy is obliged to help Slovenia in its EU bid, as neighbours should help each other. Moreover, Slovenia is meeting all demands for the Union's membership, according to Provera.

The Italian official also suggested that bilateral relations should be strengthened, and co-operation between the two governments and parliaments boosted.

Asked whether the issue related to the property of "esuli" - the Italian citizens who left the former Yugoslavia after WWII, has already been settled, Kacin said that Slovenia has met all its obligations.

According to Kacin, Slovenia deposited all the money for compensations to esuli stemming from the Ossimo Agreements on a fiduciary account at the Luxembourg-based Dresdner Bank. Kacin also said that Slovenia's property market is open for Italian citizens as well.

Responding to the same question, Provera said that agreements have been complied with, therefore there is no dispute and no obstacle for good relations for that matter. "If certain nuances exist, diplomats are tasked with explaining and doing away with them," Provera said. As to the question of the Slovenian minority in Italy, Provera said that the Italian Minister of Relations with the Parliament Carlo Giovanardi confirmed on 4 November that there would be no cuts in state funding of minority organisations.

The Italian official also expressed conviction that the Slovenian government will also have an open attitude towards the Italian minority in Slovenia.

Source: Slovene Press Agency STA