Hungary's government will not accede to any alteration of the existing agreement between MOL and Croatia's oil and gas company INA, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said according to the MTI news agency.
"The Hungarian government will not consent to any changes to the effective agreement between Hungary's oil and gas company MOL and Croatian peer INA," Prime Minister Viktor Orban was quoted by the Hungarian news agency as saying at a press conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
According to the MTI, the premier responded to earlier allegations in the Croatian press that the Croatian government could even terminate the agreement.
In response to a question about accusations in Croatia against MOL's CEO Zsolt Hernadi on suspicion that he was involved in bribery, Orban said that Hungary did not consider the issue as an inter-governmental affair and that it was up to the respective law-enforcement agencies to clarify those charges.
"We do not wish to interfere or play any role in it whatsoever," Orban was quoted as saying.
Hungarian daily Nepszabadsag said on Tuesday that Croatia had officially requested Hernadi's extradition, on suspicion of bribing former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader to allow MOL to take over management of INA. This information on extradition was refuted by both the Croatian prosecutorial authorities and MOL
The Hungarian state holds a 25 percent interest in MOL.
