The Bridge party accused the government of Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic of allowing the Hungarian oil and gas company MOL to blackmail it into closing down one of Croatia’s oil refineries.
Bridge said on Friday that by “stalling and abandoning plans for INA’s buyout, the Plenkovic cabinet is making it possible for MOL to blackmail (Croatia) into the announced closing of the Sisak oil refinery.”
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Wondering what Hungarian MP Viktor Orban has blackmailed Plenkovic with, Bridge asked what “Croatia will get if (Plenkovic) has allowed Hungarians to close the refinery in Sisak and let them enter Petrokemija’s management. Will they soon start exporting INA’s gas to themselves and who knows what else is in the offering?”
“Isn’t the price of Hungary’s merciful blackmailer involvement in the LNG terminal, whereby Plenkovic is showing his commitment to the EU by seeking a future office in the Commission, too high?” the party asked.
Bridge further said that PM Plenkovic has personally appointed the Croatian members in the management of the INA oil company (jointly owned by Croatia and MOL) but that they are not representing INA’s interests.
In the shareholders agreement on INA, MOL has pledged to be a strategic partner but it has taken over INA’s market and turned the company into an oil retailer, Bridge said, claiming that Hungary is protecting its interests in a sovereign way while the Croatian government is incapable of organising a tender to buy back MOL’s stake in INA.