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EU considers Croatia-Slovenia dispute as a 'bilateral issue'

(ANSA) - BRUXELLES, 22 OTT - EU Commissioner for Migration, Dimitris Avramopoulos, replied today on Slovenia's opposition to Croatia's entry into Schengen. "The open dispute on the internal border between Croatia and Slovenia is a bilateral issue that does not interfere with the Schengen rules", he said. During the last few weeks, a number of Slovenian MEPs, supported by Prime Minister Marjan Sarec, have sent an open letter to EU leaders to oppose the accession of Zagreb to the area of free movement. "We received the letter, I understand that there are some concerns and we had different ideas even among us commissioners, but our assessment today is very very clear and based on a four-year verification process", Avramopulos explained. "Schengen membership criteria are equal for all the Member States", he added. Once in Schengen, Croatia will have "rights but also obligations and will have to continue working on better management of the European external borders," the Commissioner pointed out. (ANSA).