Erjavec believes that the diplomatic note in which Croatia announced its plans to issue fines to Slovenian fishermen because of supposed illegal border crossings in the Piran Bay is absurd. After all, no one has ever defined a border on the median line of the Piran Bay. Erjavec assured Slovenian fishermen that they have nothing to fear because Croatia has no legal basis to fine them for fishing in Slovenian waters as defined by the arbitration court. According to Erjavec, Slovenia will do everything to protect its citizens, including fishermen.

He believes that Croatia is desperate to establish its administrative authority in Slovenian territorial waters, but he adds that the border has been defined by the arbitration court ruling, which means that Croatia’s attempt to exert its authority in Slovenian waters is absurd. “If I can be a bit mean-spirited for a second, I would call this the politics of parroting,” Erjavec added. He assured fishermen that “they have nothing to fear,” since Croatia has “no legal basis” to fine them for fishing in Slovenian waters as defined by the arbitration court.

The first 14 fines issued by Slovenia were sent to the Savudrija-based fisherman Diego Makovac and his wife, according to the Croatian commercial TV channel Nova TV. They received seven Slovenian citations of 500 euros each, which means that they will have to pay a total fine of 7000 euros. Makovac said that he doesn’t intend to pay the fine and that he and his wife will send all 14 citations to the Ministry of Agriculture, as instructed by Croatian authorities.