ZAGREB, 5 May, 2021 - Defence Minister Mario Banožić on Wednesday met Hungary's incoming Ambassador to Croatia, Csaba Demcsák, expressing satisfaction with Croatian-Hungarian friendly relations.

"Both sides expressed their satisfaction with the long-lasting friendly relations between the two countries while Minister Banožić said that the two countries have developed excellent bilateral military cooperation," a press release from the defence ministry notes.

Banožić spoke about Croatian-Hungarian cooperation within the RACVIAC centre for security cooperation and the Central European Defence Cooperation (CEDC) and at the Multinational Division Command Centre in Hungary, established jointly by Hungary and Croatia, as well as about their cooperation in the EU and NATO.

Ambassador Demcsák presented Hungary's current defence policy, underlining that he believes in the continuation of the two countries' good cooperation, the ministry's press release notes.

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February the 20th, 2021 - The INA-MOL saga has oulived both the Agrokor (remember that?) and the fighter jet purchase sagas, and the Hungarians are now wanting much more than Croatia has to offer in that regard.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, the Hungarian MOL confirmed recently that talks with the Croatian Government about the INA-MOL saga, more precisely on the sale of a controlling stake in INA are continuing, and Bloomberg and Hina both quoted MOL CEO Jozsef Molnar as saying that their views on the price of that stake were "quite far apart".

In a recent conversation with analysts, held after the announcement of MOL's business results for last year, it was said that MOL was never against the agreement, but that wanted to sell its stake in INA at a price that would properly compensate it for its investments in the Croatian company.

If you haven't followed the INA-MOL saga in detail, the Hungarian MOL is otherwise the largest individual shareholder of INA, as it holds 49.1 percent of INA shares (4,908,207 shares), while the Croatian state holds 44.8 percent (4,483,552 shares), and private and institutional shareholders hold 6.1 percent of shares (608,241 shares).

Back in early February this year, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Tomislav Coric said that talks were underway with MOL to buy out its stake in INA and that the whole story about the Croatian oil company should not be prolonged beyond the second half of this year.

At a press briefing held on February the 10th, he said that a series of meetings had been held to buy MOL's stake in INA and that the government had made its offer to buy MOL's stake in INA back in November last year, without providing any further details about the offer.

“Over the next few months, let's say over four to five months, we're going to have to know exactly which direction has been chosen. If the transaction is needed after that, it will all take some time,'' said Coric.

Coric also said that the direction that the Croatian Government doesn't support and which is not optimal for Croatia is to maintain the status quo, while from the beginning they've wanted an agreement to be reached between the Croatian Government and the Hungarian side on the purchase of shares in INA.

The latter direction potentially includes a third party, in the sense that the Hungarian side leaves the ownership of INA entirely and is replaced by someone else. In addition, if the Hungarian side is ready to sell its shares in INA, there is an option for Croatia to buy them itself, ie through an arrangement of legal entities from Croatia, which would certainly, at least in one sense, affect the increase of public debt, which was not the Government's wish.

As a third option, if no agreement is reached on the purchase price in the INA-MOL saga, he stated that the agreement would then in the direction of redefining the relationship between the partners within INA, in a way that would see a balanced relationship between the two shareholders, including positions in the company's management, with all of the accompanying obligations and rights implied.

It's worth mentioning that back at the end of 2016, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic announced that the Croatia Government had decided to buy MOL's entire stake in INA, after Croatia lost the lawsuit against MOL before the arbitration court of the United Nations  UN) Commission for International Trade Law in Geneva.

An investment advisor in that transaction, the consulting company Lazard, presented a preliminary report on the in-depth survey of INA's business and its value in June last year, and in September 2020, a final report on the assessment of INA's value was made.

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ZAGREB, Sept 24, 2020 - Croatian Minister of Science and Education Radovan Fuchs on Thursday met with Hungary's Minister for Human Resources Miklos Kasler to talk about impact of pandemic on education system.

The two ministers discussed the challenges in education as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, the ministry said in a press release.

Minister Fuchs presented Croatia's experience in planning the new school year and the option of three models to conduct classes based on epidemiological circumstances, the ministry said and added that they also discussed continuing cooperation and defining new cooperation programmes in the field of education and science.

The ministry notes that the two ministers discussed possible joint science projects, particularly as part of European research programmes.

The ministers agreed that all countries are faced with similar challenges as a consequence of the pandemic which require common responses to this crisis, and concluded that it is essential  to continue close cooperation in the coming period.

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Zagreb, September 1, 2020 – As reported by Hina, as of September 1, due to the coronavirus crisis, only three border crossings between Hungary and Croatia are open: Duboševica-Udvar, Terezino Polje-Barcs (only for Croatian and Hungarian citizens) and Goričan-Leteneye, the Croatian Auto Club (HAK) reported on Tuesday morning.

Hungary closes the borders for all passengers who don't have a residential address in that country. The entry is only allowed for so-called justified cases.

Strong winds slow down the traffic on an A6 Rijeka-Zagreb motorway between Kikovica and Tuhobić Tunnel. On the part of section A1 between the Bristovac Tunnel and the Sveti Rok Tunnel, there is a speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour due to fog.

The roads are wet and slippery in most parts of Croatia.

The Croatian Auto Club (HAK) warns drivers to adjust their speed and driving style to the conditions on the road.

From August 15, Croatian citizens must have a negative PCR test, not older than 48 hours, to enter Serbia, unless they are only transiting through Serbia.

All persons traveling from the Republic of Croatia to Italy (from August 13) and Austria (from August 18), at the entrance, must have a negative Covid-19 test, not older than 72 hours, or they must be tested within 48 hours of entry.

The decision applies to the citizens of the Republic of Croatia, as well as to the persons who have resided in the Republic of Croatia. The transit through Italy and Austria is currently not restricted and does not require a negative test.

The catamaran line Ubli - Vela Luka - Hvar - Split is interrupted.

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Zagreb, August 24, 2020 – Croatia is trying to save its tourist season, so they are regularly sending us their data, and it doesn't look much better than the articles in the media, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Monday.

As Večernji writes, the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said there are only a few more days of summer holidays left, so he advised everyone who wants and has an opportunity to go to the sea, to do so immediately, because, from September 1, restrictions on travel to countries south of Hungary will be introduced again.

The Hungarian Prime Minister revealed this in today's interview for Hungarian radio. Thus, without explicitly mentioning Croatia, he indirectly announced putting our country on the red list before the beginning of the school year.

"I don't want to interfere in personal lifestyle choices, habits and plans of Hungarians, but with due respect and caution, I ask everyone to not organize trips or book holidays in countries south of Hungary and not to consider themselves as tourists because it would be contrary to the protective measures at the borders," said Orbán. He added that in assessing the situation in some countries, including Croatia, they are not guided by the media, but have established direct contact with Austrians and Croats.

"The situation in most countries is getting worse compared to Hungary. The warning that the import of the infection poses the biggest threat to Hungary is not only valid but also more valid than before. The summer indeed lasts and people are on vacation, but soon it will be over and the school will start. For the families, it is the most important that schools and kindergartens function normally", said the Hungarian Prime Minister.

Orbán, as well as the Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, was seen spending his vacation on a yacht in Croatia.

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As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes on the 19th of February, 2020, a year and a half after they rented the summer residence on Smokvica island from the state, which had been used by former Agrokor boss Ivica Todoric and his family for years, the Zelena nekretnina (Green real estate) company knocked on the door of the Ministry of State Property with the idea of ​​allowing it to build new, luxury facilities.

Such an option was not foreseen in the tender and bidding process, in which the real estate investment fund Balansz Zártkörű Nyíltvégű Intézményi Ingatlan Alap, founded by OTP Banka, was selected. More specifically, the tender explicitly provided for the use of existing facilities on Smokvica island for their own purposes or for use in the hospitality and tourism industry.

If we're focusing on the latter case, the tender stated that the adaptation of existing buildings, such as transforming them into some sort of tourist resort or hotel is possible if done within four-star standards. It is also possible to install easily removable prefabricated objects on the beach, in order to make it more desirable for tourists. But new construction on the island wasn't an option.

However, the tenant who agreed to the annual price of 6.1 million kuna now wants to construct new luxury buildings, villas and common facilities, and presented his project to representatives of the Ministries of State Property, Defense and Construction and the Prefect of Sibenik-Knin, Goran Pauk.

The participants stated that the question of just how much they are actually willing to invest is totally irrelevant because the project presented is beyond the legal possible dimensions.

"Smokvica island is still a special purpose island belonging to the MOD (Ministry of Defense) and for as long as that remains the case, then no construction is possible. We explained to them that it was possible to make some changes, but firstly to the MOD, and then there could be a change in the municipal and county spatial plan,'' said Pauk, adding that the plan presented by the tenants is still not feasible in the dimensions that they're looking for, among other things, because of the size of Smokvica island and because of the prescribed minimum distance of structures needing to be 100 metres away from the coastline.

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The Summit of the Central European Initiative (SEI), which brought together the heads of state of six countries in Zagreb, saw the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, arrive in Croatia. Despite talks between the two leaders, the INA-MOL situation remains without real direction.

As Jadranka Dozan/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 3rd of December, 2018, this opportunity, as was well understood by the involved parties, was also used for bilateral talks between the Hungarian PM and Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. After the meeting, there were more or less protocol words and a few statements decorated with positive intonations released. The talk, according to Plenković, showed the desire of both countries to continue to develop economic cooperation as well as the good will to overcome existing problems primarily regarding INA and MOL, so as to solve and not further endanger the development of relations in all other areas.

Orban isn't quite as diplomatic as the ever-polished Plenković in his view, and in his opinion it isn't normal that two neighbouring states which look to each other as allies have allowed six or seven years to pass since the last official visits between their respective prime ministers.

"During the last few months, we've conducted numerous negotiations, and today I came to bring our relations back," Orban said, recalling that cooperation with Croatia began back in the 1990s with an advocate in the Hungarian parliament, and underlining the fact that he was a friend of President Franjo Tudjman. This will result in a new dialogue between the two neighbouring governments, it's too early to talk in any real detail, but talks on the energy sector are expected, as well as those over the ongoing INA-MOL situation and the question of Hungary's interest in the LNG terminal project on the island of Krk. Despite the aforementioned, the talks between the two prime ministers certainly weren't focused purely on neighbourly relations in terms of business and energy strategies.

Justice had its part to play in the talks. On the one hand, there is the arbitration dispute at the International Settlement of Dispute Settlements in Washington, and other disputes over the request of the Croatian judiciary for the extradition of Zsolt Hernadí of Hungary's MOL.

From the aspect of energy strategy and business, especially in light of the declarative plan of the Croatian Government on the purchase of MOL's stake in INA, the appearance of Minister Tomislav Ćorić on Sunday was very indicative.

The day before talks with the Hungarian side over the INA-MOL situation were due, Minister Ćorić confirmed that the Croatian Government had not yet signed a contract with the investment advisory consortium for the INA project, which was chosen back in April, after a multi-month process which was characterised by several so-called "extensions".

According to the minister, a contract with a consortium in which Morgan Stanley, Intesa Group and PBZ are involved has not yet been signed owing to the fact that when conversation with them following the initial selection, "points around which there was no complete understanding" arose. Despite this, Minister Ćorić claims that "they're currently being resolved". This raised numerous questions from the side of experts and left them wondering what the situation would be like if international consultants hadn't stepped in.

Meanwhile, there were more meetings between representatives of the Croatian Government and Hungarians, and one can quite easily conclude that these talks were without any real specific focus. Most of the bigger problems appear to lie with the sheer lack of clear views on what strategic goals need to be achieved and in which development segments the Croatian Government intends to place the most emphasis.

As with most things in Croatia, the path to solving the INA-MOL situation is littered with obstacles and appears to be very far from a solution, regardless of the apparent good will on both the Croatian and the Hungarian side.

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Click here for the original article by Jadranka Dozan for Poslovni Dnevnik

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