Finance Minister Slavko Linic said on Monday that dismissal of the Hungarian chairman of INA's Management Board, Zoltan Aldott, was not a subject of talks between the Croatian government and the Hungarian oil company MOL - the two biggest shareholders in INA - particularly not if it was being done through the media.
Relations in INA's Supervisory Board are evidently not as they should be and that is the reason why Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic is insisting that government officials hold a meeting with senior MOL executives, said Linic when asked by the press to comment on media reports that the Croatian members of INA's Supervisory Board wanted Aldott to resign.
"We can talk about the obvious lack of respect for the Croatian members of the Supervisory Board," Linic said, adding that investments in INA's refineries and retail network should be continued.
"Those are the things we should be discussing, as well as the responsibility of all Supervisory Board members, changes to the shareholders' agreement and what the government's interest in INA is and what we expect. Anything aside from that are misunderstandings and unacceptable relations between the two partners," said Linic.
The Hungarian oil and gas group earlier in the day expressed its displeasure and concern about the letter which the four Croatian members of INA's Supervisory Board had sent to the government demanding Aldott's dismissal.
MOL said in a statement it learnt from the media that "certain members of the Supervisory Board" had sent a letter to the Croatian government and a portion of the letter had been published in the Croatian media. MOL is displeased and concerned that several facts mentioned in the article "are incorrect, misinterpreted and represent INA's standings and MOL's intentions in a false manner."
"As we stated already before, in the current situation the nomination of the Ministers of Economy and Finance of the Croatian Government to the Supervisory Board of INA would certainly be a good move making possible for the Government to get first hand information both about the real tendencies and results and also the untruth of all incorrect, false and misinterpreted facts and information that were stated in the published parts of the letter about INA's financial situation, investments and performance," the statement said.
"We believe that INA is managed well, it is making profit, its investments have been speeded up and the management is doing well. As a result INA is becoming stronger and more successful and it is on the path to become a regional leader. And the close co-operation with MOL based on mutual respect and sharing strength and knowledge makes INA stronger," MOL said.
