Croatian, Hungarian presidents meet on outstanding issues

Presidents of Croatia and Hungary Wednesday met here on outstanding issues between the two countries in an attempt to create a favorable climate for resolving them.

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic said the bilateral relations had been burdened by some issues, such as INA-MOL case and cross-border cooperation. However "those issues should not pose an obstacle to cooperation."

"Strong bonds and mutual interests should create a favorable climate for resolving outstanding issues -- from the INA-MOL case to other issues in energy and cross-border cooperation sectors and the migration policy," she added.

The Croatian president and her Hungarian counterpart Janos Ader agreed that the Western Balkan migrant route must stay closed and the dialogue with Turkey must continue, Grabar-Kitarovic said at a joint news conference.

We agreed that the priority was to protect the EU's external borders to avoid the need to control EU internal borders, including the one between Croatia and Hungary, she added.

The two presidents wished to help the attempts to resolve the INA-MOL issue burdening the two countries' relations for years.

Ader, who arrived in Zagreb on Wednesday for a two-day official visit to Croatia, said MOL, the Hungarian energy company which holds 49.08 percent of INA, the Croatia state energy company, had invested significant resources for the development of INA, stressing that if Croatia wanted to buy back its share in INA it should pay Hungary back the money invested so far.

Croatia has disagreements with MOL over the management rights and investment policy at INA for years. Last December, the Croatian government decided to regain ownership of INA by buying the entire stake held by the MOL after Croatia lost the lawsuit against MOL before the Arbitral Tribunal of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). Endit