ABSTRACT
Each of the former communist countries is a specific case, and so, too, is Slovenia. Slovenia suffered from the Yugoslav crisis in the 1980s and only became an independent state at the beginning of the 1990s, following the tragic disintegration of the Yugoslav federation. However, Slovenian policy had already established the republic’s “European orientation” in the 1980s, and integration into Euro-Atlantic structures and European Community/European Union2 membership became and remained the strategic goal of Slovenian foreign policy after independence. The disadvantages the country incurred in its attempts at European integration from its proximity to the Yugoslav conflict have to a large extent been counterbalanced by earlier, favourable factors influencing Slovenia’s development, so that it is now one of the leading contenders for EU membership. This chapter presents some of the historic developments, problems and successes that have characterized Slovenia’s attempts to join the EU.
