For new Member States, accession to the European Union also implied the obligation in accordance with the acquis communautaire to set up an adequate new regime on the EU external border, i.e. on the frontier of those Member States that border on non-Member States or the so-called third countries. Thus, Slovenia has been obliged to establish security, customs and inspection surveillance along its part of the EU external border with the Republic of Croatia, which has to comply with the EU standards. From accession to the EU onward, Slovenian customs and inspection authorities have been performing customs, veterinary and phytosanitary controls on our EU external border for the entire European Union. The border control carried out by police on the Slovenian external border with Croatia has been in fact fully complying with the requirements of the Schengen acquis since Slovenia together with eight new EU Member States (except Cyprus) joined the upgraded Schengen information system known as “SIS One 4 All” in September 2007.

Following a favourable assessment of the capacity to fully implement the Schengen acquis, the EU Council adopted for nine new Member States a decision on the abolition of internal border control which shall be abolished by 21 December 2007 for land and sea borders between the Member States, and by 30 March 2008 for their air borders. In Slovenia's case, this implies the abolition of border control on the frontiers with Italy, Austria and Hungary, and the full implementation of border control complying to the Schengen standards for the entire EU on the border with the Republic of Croatia.

Since 2000, the Government Office for European Affairs has been coordinating inter-ministerial preparations for the setting up of security, customs and inspection surveillance of the EU external border. After Slovenia’s accession to the EU, Minister of the Interior successfully chaired the inter-ministerial coordination the purpose of which was to complete preparations in accordance with a special Implementation Plan for the Application of the Schengen Standards for the Surveillance of the EU External Border.

The establishment of the EU external border in the new Member States was co-financed from the EU budget, i.e. from the PHARE funds and from the special financial instrument called the Schengen Facility. Regarding the financing of the establishment of the EU external border from the EU funds, the Government Office for European Affairs coordinated the programming of projects financed by the Schengen Facility and monitored the implementation of the entire programme.

Contacts:

Coordination II Department

Petra Česen Čatar

t: 01 478 2402

f: 01 478 2486

e: petra.cesen-catar(at)gov.si

 (last change: 31.3.2008)