"We want to change the agreement and want to apply the Companies Act to INA as well, because there is no reason for something like this to be happening. We will not accept this kind of relationship within INA because it is inappropriate and unacceptable. It is a result of the work of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party and that must change," Linic told a press conference in the Parliament building.

He said it was true that MOL could run INA without the Croatian government, but that in that case "they are starting a war against the Croatian state."

"Just take a look around. They are all over the country painting and redecorating their filling stations, which shows that they are sensitive to criticism and take this government seriously," Linic said.

He said he expected MOL to start modernising the refineries and open a new gas drilling well in the Adriatic.

MOL is the single biggest shareholder in INA, holding 49.1% of its shares, while the Croatian government owns 44.84%.

The press also wanted to know how it was possible that the industrial equipment manufacturer Djuro Djakovic was buying the construction company Ingra, which should have filed for bankruptcy, to which Linic replied that the move was aimed at saving jobs. "Here we can see a state-owned company rescuing a private company. Djuro Djakovic is state-owned, but it won't stay that way. It will be privatised in the coming years."

Linic said that his ministry was in close contact with creditors and banks regarding crisis-hit construction companies such as Dalekovod, Ingra and Konstruktor.