Croatia and Hungary’s MOL will resume talks next month in an effort to resolve their long-running dispute over energy company INA Croatia’s economy ministry spokesman said.

The two main shareholders in Croatia’s biggest utility have been at odds over management rights and investment policy, damaging the company’s business and threatening to sour relations between the two EU member states. There have been several rounds of negotiations since September 2013, the most recent of which ended in July last year.

'The talks are now expected to continue in mid-April. We hope this time we will see some progress achieved,' ministry spokesman Tomislav Cerovec said.

Negotiations had been slated to continue this month with the help of a US facilitator, but Cerovec said the two sides needed more time to prepare the agenda.

MOL is INA’s biggest shareholder with a stake of almost 50 per cent, while the Croatian government holds nearly 45 per cent. Croatia wants the management rights in INA redefined so that the government has an equal say in decision-making. MOL, meanwhile, complains that red tape is hampering its plans to invest more in INA and run the company more efficiently. It has refused to give up management control and said it is prepared to sell its stake in INA if an agreement cannot be reached.