Plenković: We are returning INA into Croatian hands

Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced in the afternoon that the Government is returning INA into Croatian hands, calling it a strategic political decision, writes Index.hr, reports Patria.

- The Hungarian side has been informed of this decision at the highest level. I am informing you of this today at an unusual time, on Christmas Eve. This is because we received notification from our legal team today that a decision has been made in the proceedings of the Republic of Croatia against the Hungarian oil and gas company MOL before the arbitration court of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) - Plenković revealed.

- The evidentiary proceedings concluded before the mandate of this Government began. The arbitration court decided that the submitted evidence was not sufficient to prove that the contracts concluded in 2009 were the result of corrupt activities and therefore rejected their annulment. In this context, it should be mentioned that Croatian courts have not yet rendered any final verdict proving this, and the only such verdict that was rendered was annulled by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia - the Prime Minister informed the public.

The Government strongly opposes the arbitration court's decision and is considering all available legal options to challenge it.

- We expect the decision from the International Court for Investment Disputes in Washington next year. As I have emphasized several times since I took responsibility for leading the Croatian Government, we have considered and prepared the best options for protecting national interests in the area of energy security - says Plenković.

Plenković says there is a model to buy INA without increasing public debt.

- INA is a strategic national company for the Republic of Croatia. A sustainable oil and gas production system, reserve replenishment, business expansion in Southeast Europe, and a modern refinery system that will ensure energy security are priorities for the Government of the Republic of Croatia - says the Prime Minister.

Plenković says that the purchase of INA shares from MOL will not affect the increase in public debt. However, he did not reveal how the Government would achieve this.

- Therefore, the Croatian Government will initiate the process of purchasing MOL's entire stake in INA, according to a model we have already developed, which is financially sustainable and will ultimately not increase the public debt of the Republic of Croatia. Given the market sensitivity, we will discuss the details of the aforementioned model when the conditions are met. I want to say that this decision is supported by both the President of the Republic of Croatia Grabar Kitarović and the Speaker of Parliament Petrov. My responsibility to the Croatian public is to - even though today is a great Christian holiday - inform you about the strategic decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia to purchase INA - concluded Plenković.