July 20 (SeeNews) - The European Commission said it decided to put on hold the referral of Croatia to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to amend the law on the privatisation of oil and gas group INA [ZSE:INA-R-A].
The Croatian authorities recently submitted a draft amending the privatisation law, which would address the Commission's main concerns, subject to some further adjustments, the EU's executive body said in a statement on Thursday.
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Moreover, the Croatian authorities submitted a timeline for the adoption of the amendment that would permit a solution before a possible Court judgment.
The Commission had decided to refer Croatia to the Court of Justice on July 13, 2017, for failing to make the 2002 law on the privatisation of INA compliant with EU rules on the free movement of capital and the freedom of establishment.
Although Croatia took the commitment to align the so-called INA law with EU rules before its accession to the EU, in November 2014 the Commission decided to take action against the country for failure to amend the legislation.
After assessing the observations of the Croatian authorities in December 2016, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion to Croatia to formally request the amendment of the INA law, on the ground that it violates the rules of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Then, concluding that Croatia had not fully complied with the Commission's reasoned opinion, it decided on July 13, 2017, to refer the matter to the Court of Justice.
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