January 10 (SeeNews) - Croatia's opposition Social Democratic Party (SDP) is against government plans to sell a stake in energy utility HEP to raise funds for regaining ownership of oil and gas company INA [ZSE:INA-R-A] and may propose a referendum on the issue, SDP leader Davor Bernardic said on Tuesday.
If the government keeps insisting on the sale of a 25% stake in HEP to raise funds for the purchase of the stake in INA held by Hungarian energy group MOL, SDP will seek a referendum, Davor Bernardic told local TV broadcaster N1.
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"Croatia needs to maintain its energy independence. Selling 25 percent of the shares may directly affect electricity supply and its price. Electricity is not petrol, it powers hospitals, schools, the most vulnerable groups. Electricity is just as important as water. This is not a game", Bernardic warned.
Bernardic said he expects a meeting with Croatia's prime minister Andrej Plenkovic in the coming days.
In late December, Plenkovic unveiled a government decision to regain ownership of INA after it emerged that MOL had won an arbitration case launched by Croatia before the arbitral tribunal of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
In 2014, Croatia filed for international arbitration against MOL with the aim to cancel a 2009 deal that allowed MOL to take over INA's management. Last year, Croatia ordered a retrial of former prime minister Ivo Sanader who had been earlier convicted for taking a bribe from MOL to allow it to acquire a dominant stake in INA.
According to Croatian media reports, the government has been working on a plan to regain INA for months.
Whether the government will decide to sell a stake in HEP to finance the transaction all depends on the price MOL will set for its 49.08% stake in INA. The government controls 44.84% of INA, while institutional and private investors hold a stake of 6.08%.