Milanovic said that MOL's offer to purchase the small shareholders' stake for 2,800 kuna per share, far more than its current price on the stock exchange, was "unpartnerlike", adding that the Hungarian company was showing that it was in a stronger position at the moment.

"The Croatian government and MOL are partners and it's logical that partners consult each other on important decisions affecting a company's structure, because otherwise it's not a partnership but a classic case of rivalry," the SDP president said at a press conference, stressing that the government was showing signs of disorientation.

"The government is sleeping and doing nothing. One minister says it is MOL's statutory or contractual right, as if he wasn't a minister of the Croatian government, but a member of a Hungarian or German employers' association, while another minister says that it's hitting below the belt," Milanovic said.

He said that it was a delicate situation because Hungary is taking over the rotating EU presidency next year and Croatia is keen to conclude EU membership negotiations with Hungarian assistance.

"I hope these two things are not organically connected and that one does not depend on the other. I want to believe that it's just MOL's business interest, but it should also be Croatia's national interest and desire to retain control of one of the biggest and strategic Croatian companies," the SDP leader said.

He said he would not want to put relations between the Croatian government and MOL in the context of Croatian-Hungarian relations, which he said were very good.

Milanovic said that second-pillar pension funds had been sending out signals to the government for days, but that the government was not responding.

"Maybe the second-pillar pension funds can raise funds and offer the small shareholders an appropriate amount, but all that requires the active policy and determination of the government," Milanovic said.