On Thursday, the Slovenian government will start paying resettlement compensation to Slovenian nationals living in disputed areas near the Croatian border who it considers stranded by the arbitration border ruling recognised by Slovenia, but not by Croatia.
The terms of resettlement promised by Prime Minister Miro Cerar’s government include a €1.2 million fund for Slovenian nationals wishing to purchase a new home elsewhere in Slovenia within the next three years, with their old properties across the border remaining in their ownership.
By the end of March, some 25 applications for resettlement have been filed, with more than half coming from disputed areas in Istria, including hamlets near the Dragonja river, RTL reported.
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The exact amount applicants will receive from the Slovenian government will depend on the number of people living in the applying household. A single-person household is eligible for €45,300, while a six-member family could potentially receive as much as €128,350.
Croatia considers the June 2017 international arbitration ruling on a long-standing sea and land border dispute with Slovenia compromised because of a scandal during the process involving leaked tapes showing Slovenian government official inappropriately discussing the case with a court’s judge.
Although judges were later replaced, Croatia withdrew from the arbitration process in 2015, and considers the later ruling invalid. Its government proposed a new round of bilateral negotiations instead, which Slovenia rejects as it considers the ruling binding, and has since moved to include its findings into its legislation.
