The agency's position is that state subsidies must not be given to the Split steel mill and the solution should be sought in bankruptcy or in attracting an investor who can operate without those subsidies, she said.
In response to reporters' questions as to how the lease of the plant would be treated, Spevcec said she saw no problems if the lease was in accordance with market conditions.
According to Spevec, problems in the domestic iron and steel industry are a bigger obstacle for provisionally closing the policy chapter on market competition within Croatia's European Union accession negotiations than the situation in the national shipbuilding industry.
Europe has abandoned state grants in the iron and steel industry, she said, adding that Croatia's Stabilisation and Accession Agreement with the EU made no mention of shipyards but it did mention the obligation of restructuring the iron and steel industry.
Two solutions for the ailing Zeljezara Split were presented at a recent meeting of the company's workers and unionists with the Croatian Privatisation Fund and the Economy Ministry.
One of them is to peacefully terminate the agreement with Poland's Zlomrex, which should then sell its claims and a stake in the steel mill to the Privatisation Fund at one kuna. In return, the Fund would no longer insist on payment from corporate guarantees. This would enable the Fund to become the owner of the Split-based company.
The other solution is to seek the enforcement of corporate guarantees in court. This will probably lead to the plant's bankruptcy due to its overindebtedness.