Transferred foreign-currency deposits
Slovenia highlights that the issue of transferred foreign-currency deposits in Croatia is a succession issue which must be addressed within succession negotiations while judicial proceedings against LB and NLB continue in Croatia incurring damage to the relevant companies. Since the European Commission has already played an active role when concluding the Memorandum of Understanding between the Slovenian and Croatian governments, Slovenia expects that it would accept the request to mediate.
Background
In the Memorandum of Understanding signed at Mokrice in 2013, the two countries undertook to seek a solution to the question of transferred foreign-currency deposits in the context of succession negotiations. Furthermore, Croatia undertook to suspend all judicial proceedings underway before Croatian courts against LB and NLB until the final resolution of this issue, while Slovenia undertook to begin the process of ratifying Croatia's EU accession agreement following the signing of the Memorandum.
Slovenia has fulfilled its part of the obligations, but Croatia has not since proceedings before the Croatian courts against LB and NLB are continuing. To date, final judgments have been handed down in four proceedings, in three cases to the detriment of LB and NLB, which has resulted in a loss to these two companies and to Slovenia, among other reasons because the value of the state investment in NLB is reduced, as has also been seen in the process of privatisation of NLB.
Subject of mediation
Slovenia emphasises that the proceedings underway before the Croatian courts against LB and NLB in the matter of transferred foreign-currency deposits represent an infringement of Croatia's obligations under international law, Slovenia's constitutional order and EU law.
In past years, Croatia has failed to respond to Slovenia's calls to resolve this issue in the context of succession negotiations. On 23 April 2018, in view of the continuation of judicial proceedings against LB and NLB in Croatia, Slovenia requested the European Commission to act as a mediator in the case of transferred foreign-currency deposits.