Lawmakers want Croatia out of Slovenia border arbitration

Zagreb, 29 July 2015 (MIA) - Croatian lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to withdraw from a border arbitration with Slovenia, dealing further blow to efforts to resolve a longstanding dispute, AP reports. 

Parliament voted Wednesday 141-0 in favor of withdrawing from the process following revelations one the Slovenian judge on the international panel had violated its rules.

The vote came a day after the Netherlands-based tribunal urged both sides to "refrain from any action or statement which might intensify the dispute or jeopardize the work of the Arbitral Tribunal."

Slovenia replaced its judge with the head of the International Court of Justice, Ronny Abraham, in a bid to save the process. The arbitration was established in 2011 to unblock Croatia's EU membership bid.

Border issues include a few coastal villages and the line between the two countries' territorial waters.