Can Cabinet`s Solution On ZERP Soften Slovenia Up?

Compromise with which the Croatian cabinet is planning to end the ZERP torment is fishing with compensation.


ZAGREB, CROATIA – Torment when it comes to the Protected Ecological Fishery Zone (ZERP) is over, it seems. As Prime Minister Ivo Sanader announced several days ago, the cabinet has a solution. Even though he did not wish to reveal it to reporters, Parliament president Luka Bebic did it instead, pointing out that fishing for foreigners will be enabled for compensation.

Croatia is to propose such an agreement to Rome and Ljubljana at a quadrateral meeting, which should be held on March 13 when the European Council will meet, according to Sanader.



Croatian Peasants` Party (HSS) president Josip Friscic is pleased with fishing for compensation. In a conversation over the telephone, he told us that such a compromise is the result of efforts in the cabinet to put an end to the issue of ZERP.

Still, Friscic points out that an agreement with the neighbors first needs to be made. Although Rome has not confirmed its arrival on the quadrateral meeting, Friscic expects Italy to agree to the meeting.

The HSS president did not wish to discuss all the details about the compromise because they need to be ratified with the neighbors first, he says. According to him, the amount of fish and the amount of the compensation charges need to be determined.

- Such matters will be solved with rules of conduct, for instance, which types of fish are protected, where fishing is allowed and where it is banned – Friscic told us.

However, even though such an offer is on the brink of solving the disputable issue, a question remains: to what extent is the Coast guard “equipped”, which is supposed to control excessive fishing by the neighbors.

Friscic claims such control is already functioning well and that the Coast guard has intercepted 24 Italian fishing boats in the ZERP area during January alone. On the other hand, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) do not see an end to torment in relation to ZERP. Neven Mimica claims the way Slovenia and Italy will react to the mentioned proposal remains a mystery.

According to him, there will be no solution during the first meeting, but the solution will be stalled.



- Italian technical government is not prepared to give answers on this matter, while Slovene wikimedia commons-.-politicians are entering their election campaign and it is not likely they will give up on national bribe which they have created over ZERP – Mimica told us. Also, the SDP member continues, the question is if European partners will give up on the thesis that we have broken a promise given in Brussels in 2004 when we said we would not apply ZERP on EU members.

Still, Mimica underlines that the most important thing is the fact time is running by. Elections are schedule for June in the European Parliament and Croatia should end negotiations by then, which will never happen, according to Mimica. Slovenia ceases to be the presiding country of the EU in June and it is also questionable when will Italy form a new cabinet, the SDP member explains. All of this prolongs Croatia`s date of ending negotiations and the end of June is mission impossible, therefore Mimica concludes the time of “hard negotiating” is before Croatia.

- The government wants to make it seem like the solution is at hand, but this is not true – Mimica points out.


The problem is also, our collocutor continues, in the control of ZERP. The government has not realised four key matters over the zone in 4 years, Mimica points out.

- This is organisation of surveillance, we lack ships and Coast guard commanding officers, our fishermen have no use from the zone, none of the new fishing boats have been allowed to fish and the renewal of the fishing fleet was announced – Mimica elaborates, adding that there is a diplomatic problem with European partners in relation to the promise from 2004.

The fourth unrealised matter, according to Mimica, is of a legislative nature: what is the biologic maximum in the zone.

- We don`t know what amount of fish are our fishermen allowed to fish and what amount are their fishermen allowed – he says.

If ZERP and Croatia entering the EU are placed on a scale, our collocutor concludes, it is not likely anything would weigh for the zone, while on the other hand, it slows down Croatia`s path towards the EU. Our diplomats will surely weigh at the announced quadrateral meeting, and we will find out soon if the Slovenians and Italians will agree to this proposal.