Today, an international arbitration court handed Slovenia a victory in its long-standing maritime dispute with Croatia, granting it direct access to international waters in the Adriatic Sea.

The town of Piran on the Adriatic coast of Slovenia. (photo: Ubald Trnkoczy)

The countries have been arguing over a stretch of their sea and land border since both declared independence from the former Yugoslavia in 1991 as it disintegrated into war and broke up.

The dispute, which centres on the bay of Piran, held up Croatia accession to the EU for many years. Only after both parties agreed to arbitration was Zagreb granted entry to the bloc in 2013.