Slovenia Votes on EU, NATO Membership

Though the vote on the EU membership is hardly in doubt the decision whether to become part of the transatlantic military alliance NATO is far from certain, despite a heavy last-minute lobbying effort by the government.

Slovenia, which broke away from Yugoslavia in 1991, has become a prosperous land of two million people known for its stability. It is often considered to have more in common with its neighbor Austria than with other fractious Balkans states like Serbia or Bosnia.

“The referendums are two sides of the same coin,” said Slovenia Prime Minister Anton Rop.

But stability has made some Slovenians question the need to join NATO, the West’s premiere military alliance. While other former eastern bloc nations such as Poland, Hungary and Latvia have considered NATO membership key to securing their new-found independence after the fall of Communism, Slovenians look to Austria and see it doing just fine with only EU membership.

Support Rises After Djindjic Assassination

Polls last month put support for NATO membership as low as 37 percent, as voters worried over being dragged into conflicts like war with Iraq and as NATO members exposed the alliance’s deep internal divisions over the conflict. But recent surveys have seen support jump to more than 50 percent following an intensive government campaign and the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic last week, which showed just how dangerous the rest of the Balkans remains.

NATO hopes to conclude membership negotiations with Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia on March 26 with the signing of accession protocols. All are expected to become members next year. Slovenia is so far the only nation to call a referendum on the issue.

Though far less contentious than the NATO vote, the referendum for EU membership is not without significance. Following Malta’s extremely narrow vote to join the group earlier this month, an unexpectedly weak ‘yes’ by Slovenia could slow momentum for enlargement. Current polls showing support running as high as 85 percent indicate that will likely not be the case.

Most candidates will hold a referendum this year. Following Slovenia on Sunday, Hungary will be the first larger country to vote on EU membership on April 12. Before the new members can join in May 2004, the accession treaty must also be ratified by the parliaments of the candidate countries and of all 15 current EU member states.

The 10 candidates for enlargement are the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta.