Serbian opposition leader: Hungarian MOL would be worst buyer for NIS

Dragan Đilas, the leader of Serbia's Party of Freedom and Justice, has voiced strong opposition to the potential sale of the state-owned oil company NIS to Hungarian energy group MOL. Đilas asserted that MOL would be the "worst buyer" for NIS, citing the proximity of MOL's refinery in Hungary to Serbia's border.

In a statement, Đilas expressed concern that MOL would have no long-term interest in preserving NIS's Pančevo refinery. He specifically criticized the Minister of Mining and Energy, Dubravka Đedović Handanović, for signing an agreement that reportedly allows MOL to purchase Gazprom's stake in NIS. Đilas questioned when the Serbian government made the decision not to exercise its pre-emptive right to buy these shares, a right Serbia holds under the original NIS sale agreement with Gazprom.

Đilas emphasized that such a decision could only be made by the entire Serbian government, not by an individual like President Aleksandar Vučić. He further suggested that if no government decision was documented regarding Serbia waiving its pre-emptive right, Minister Đedović Handanović's actions in signing the agreement with MOL could constitute a serious criminal offense.