Croatia warned in border row

The European Union urged Croatia yesterday to calm a maritime border dispute with Slovenia that has cast a cloud over Croatia's efforts to join the Union.

EU foreign ministers said Croatia should refrain from enforcing a 57,000 sq km fisheries protection zone in the Adriatic sea that it proclaimed on January 1.

Slovenia, which holds the EU's rotating presidency, views Croatia's action as an attempt to predetermine a settlement of the border dispute.