ZAGREB, November 17, 2018 – Hungary supports Croatia’s accession to the Organisation for European Cooperation and Development (OECD), Foreign and European Affairs Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić has said in an interview with the Večernji List daily, which means that Slovenia remains the only country blocking Croatia’s entry into the club of the world’s most developed countries.
“Hungary is our neighbouring and friendly country with which we share many historical, cultural and other ties, but surely the ties between our people are the strongest, and they are firm and close. Hungary supports our accession to the OECD,” the minister said in the interview with the Večernji List issue of Saturday.
She did not speak about any details, but Hina has been told that Hungary no longer opposes Croatia’s accession to the 36-member organisation.
Over the past year, Hungary was blocking Croatia’s accession to the OECD, claiming that Zagreb does not respect decisions of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), which has ruled that there is insufficient evidence to prove that agreements signed in 2009 by the Croatian government and the Hungarian oil company MOL regarding management rights in the Croatian oil company INA were a result of corruption.
Slovenia is still blocking Croatia’s accession due to Croatia’s refusal to recognise a ruling by an international arbitral tribunal on the two countries’ border dispute.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in Budapest on Friday that he would pay an official visit to Croatia in early December, the MTI news agency reported.
Speaking of relations with Croatia, Orban said that the Hungarian government believed the dispute regarding MOL should be dealt with within the company and not through talks between the two governments.
I have tried to explain that raising the dispute regarding MOL to the government level would result in a stronger response from Hungary, which can be very harmful for bilateral relations, said Orban. International courts must decide on the legal aspects of relations between the two companies and Hungary will honour their decisions, he said.
For more on the INA-MOL affair, click here.
