N E W S L E T T E R

=66rom the Daily Bulletin of the Hungarian News Agency MTI
distributed by the Department for Press and International Information
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Hungary

H-1394, Budapest P.O.B. 423.
Telephone: 36 (1) 156-8000
Telefax: 36 (1) 156-3801
No. 43/1995=09=09=09=09=09=09=0928 February 1995=20

Hungarian-Russian Basic Treaty


=09Budapest, February 27 (MTI) - The Foreign Affairs Committee of=
=20
Parliament backs the ratification of the Hungarian-Russian basic trea=
ty and=20
the foreign ministerial correspondence supplementing it.

=09The committee made this decision at today's meeting.

=09This document, which laid new foundations for Hungarian-Russian=
=20
relations, was signed by late Hungarian prime minister J=F3zsef Antal=
l and=20
President Boris Yeltsin on December 6, 1991. However, the Duma did no=
t=20
ratify it until more than three years later, on January 13 of this ye=
ar.

=09The delay was due to a section in the treaty which condemns=20
Russia's intervention during the 1956 revolution in Hungary.

=09It was added to the basic treaty at the proposal of Yeltsin - this=
 is=20
what the supplementary letters contain.

=09Prior to ratification, the issue of the basic treaty had to be tak=
en off=20
the agenda of the Duma twice, due to the reluctance of the Russian=
=20
nationalist-conservative political parties to approve it.

=09Since the signing of the treaty, several important bilateral=20
agreements have been signed between Budapest and Moscow, for instance=
=20
on Russian recognition of its debts to Hungary (half of which have al=
ready=20
been repaid), the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs s=
aid at=20
today's session.

=09The development of economic links is of major importance to=20
Hungary, as Russia is one of its biggest trading partners.

=09Prime Minister Gyula Horn is scheduled to hold talks in Moscow at=
=20
the beginning of March, which are expected to include, among other th=
ings,=20
the repayment of the other half of Russia's debts, and a bilateral ag=
reement=20
on the protection of investments.


Hungary, Baden-Wurttemberg Talks on Agriculture


=09Budapest, February 27 (MTI) - Hungary and the German province of=
=20
Baden-Wurttemberg should develop closer agricultural links, the two=
=20
agriculture ministers said after their talks in Budapest.

=09Hungarian Minister of Agriculture L=E1szl=F3 Lakos and his Baden-
Wurttemberg colleague Gerhard Weiser gave a press conference at the=
=20
Ministry of Agriculture, in Budapest, today.

=09Lakos said he was pleased that an agreement which provides=20
professional training for Hungarians in Baden-Wuttemberg had been=
=20
renewed.

=09Weiser stressed the need for the establishment of a joint working=
=20
party in order to enable daily consultations between the heads of the=
 two=20
agriculture sectors.

=09The ministers also touched on the possibility of Baden-Wurttemberg=
=20
helping the marketing of Hungarian agricultural products and providin=
g=20
environment protection technology, mainly to protect Hungary's rivers=
 and=20
lakes and its drinking-water supply.


U.N. Continues to Help Refugees in Hungary


=09Budapest, February 27 (MTI) - "Press rumours that the U.N. would=
=20
cease supporting Hungary's refugee administration are totally unfound=
ed.=20
Not even the idea of such a move has ever occurred," Refugee and=20
Migration Office director-general B=E9la Jungbert told MTI on Monday.=
 He=20
said relations between the Hungarian authorities and the U.N. were go=
od=20
and effective.

=09According to Jungbert, the problem is that the Hungarian=20
government needs money to maintain refugee camps, while the U.N. woul=
d=20
prefer projects promoting the accommodation of asylum-seekers outside=
=20
camps and their legal employment.

=09However, Hungary sees this possible only over a longer period, aft=
er=20
surveying the reception capacity of society and local authorities, ke=
eping to=20
and possibly changing, legal regulations, and considering the intenti=
ons of=20
refugees. Two-thirds of people seeking shelter in Hungary already liv=
e=20
outside camps.

=09In 1994, the U.N. gave Hungary HUF 335 million to help refugees, b=
ut=20
this sum - due to a fall in the number of asylum-seekers - had droppe=
d to=20
HUF 254 million by the end of the year.


Horn-Klaus Talks, Press Conference


=09Prague, February 27 (MTI) - Boosting trade between Hungary and the=
=20
Czech Republic, as well as ways to scrap the large deficit Hungary pi=
led up=20
last year, were the main topic of the Monday talks in Prague between =
the=20
prime ministers of the two countries.

=09Gyula Horn and Vaclav Klaus also discussed European integration=
=20
and the expansion of the Central European Free Trade Agreement.

=09At a joint press conference, Klaus said that both countries had ve=
ry=20
similar views on joining NATO and the European Union. "Even though we=
=20
sometimes appear as rivals, especially in the media, our conversation=
 was=20
not in this spirit. I feel that both sides need exchanges like we had=
 today,"=20
the Czech prime minister said.

=09Horn disclosed he had asked his Czech counterpart for industry=
=20
policies helping Hungary export more to Czech government buyers:=20
support for exports of environment-friendly Ikarus buses, Ganz-Ansald=
o=20
underground trains, and Medicor medical equipment. Then Czech barrier=
s=20
to Hungarian farm exports came into question.


=09Klaus said cooperation should be promoted - apart from Central=
=20
European free-trade zones - through government actions like those=
=20
proposed by Horn.

=09Klaus said they also talked about investment protection, lower=
=20
customs duties on farm and food products, and mutual recognition of=
=20
quality certificates. He stressed his country's interest in stronger =
friendly=20
ties with Hungary. "I think we know this about one another, yet it is=
 worth=20
repeating from time to time," Klaus said.

=09On the Visegr=E1d Group, comprising the Czech Republic, Hungary,=
=20
Poland, and Slovakia, Klaus noted the only difference between his and=
=20
Horn's approach was that the Hungarian prime minister uses the term=
=20
Visegr=E1d, while he himself does not like it.

=09"But I feel," he went on to say, "this does not alter the fact tha=
t we=20
both accept that ex-communist Central European countries must maintai=
n=20
close friendly and good-neighbourly links, and that they can make joi=
nt=20
political or economic initiatives."


Hungarian PM Meets Czech President


=09Prague, February 27 (MTI) - Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn=
=20
ended his one-day visit to Prague, leaving early this evening.

=09In the morning, Horn had talks with Czech Prime Minister Vaclav=
=20
Klaus on the development of bilateral business links and how Hungary'=
s=20
major trade deficit from last year could be eliminated. They also dis=
cussed=20
integration with European organizations.

=09In the afternoon, President Vaclav Havel received Horn in the Prag=
ue=20
castle, from where the Hungarian prime minister drove to his temporar=
y=20
residence in the Kramar villa for a meeting with Foreign Minister Jos=
ef=20
Zieleniec. Before leaving, he met Karol T=F6lgyesi, Hungarian owner o=
f the=20
Prague-based Interbanka.

=09Both sides did not announce Horn's afternoon programme.

=09The shortness of Horn's visit could have been partly due to the vi=
sits=20
Italian President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro and American U.N. Ambassador=
=20
Madeleine Albright started today to the Czech Republic. Top-ranking C=
zech=20
leaders had a crowded schedule seeing the three politicians with a fe=
w=20
hours" difference.

Bertrand Dufourcq Visits Hungary


=09Budapest, February 27 (MTI) - "France unconditionally supports=
=20
Hungary's admission to the European Union as a full member," Bertrand=
=20
Dufourcq, General Secretary of the French Foreign Ministry, told repo=
rters=20
in Budapest on Monday. He was here for one day, invited by Ferenc=
=20
Somogyi, administrative State Secretary at the Hungarian Foreign Mini=
stry.

=09Dufourcq today met Attila K=E1roly So=F3s, parliamentary State=
=20
Secretary at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and was later receiv=
ed by=20
Foreign Minister L=E1szl=F3 Kov=E1cs.

=09In the afternoon, he saw Csaba Tabajdi, parliamentary State=20
Secretary at the Prime Minister's Office in charge of minorities.

=09The French position is that the EU is incomplete without the Easte=
rn=20
European countries, the Baltic states and even Slovenia, the diplomat=
 said.=20
He cited the decision of the Essen EU summit to start separate talks =
about=20
full membership with each applicant after the inter-governmental=20
conference, which begins in 1996.

*****************************************************************
A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.

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Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
*****************************************************************



N E W S L E T T E R

from the Daily Bulletin of the Hungarian News Agency MTI
distributed by the Department for Press and International Information
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Hungary

H-1394, Budapest P.O.B. 423.
Telephone: 36 (1) 156-8000
Telefax: 36 (1) 156-3801
No. 42/1995                                                     27 February 199
5

Horn Interview on Czech-Hungarian Relation


        Prague, February 26 (MTI) - Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn
discussed the opportunities of Czech-Hungarian cooperation in economic
relations and European integration, and the basic agreements to be concluded
with Slovakia and Romania, in an interview with the Czech daily Denni
Telegraf, carried in the weekend issue. The interview is a run-up to the Prime
Minister's visit to Prague on Monday.

        Discussing the topics of his talks, Horn said he is particularly intere
sted
in ways to develop economic cooperation, "as the economies of the two
countries complement each other in many respects".

        Contrary to the remarks by Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus last
Monday, Horn voiced his conviction that the conditions for economic
cooperation can be improved on the government level.

        As regards European integration, Horn said "we are naturally rivals, bu
t
also depend on each other. At the same time, and we ourselves have
emphasized this during talks in the West, the Central European countries
should be handled in a differentiated manner, according to the level they have
achieved in fulfilling the membership conditions."

        "Hungary has made the greatest progress as regards the extensiveness
and depth of transformation," the prime minister added. "I do not believe that
there is another country in the region where the institutions of transformation
- from the stock exchange, to the banking system and other elements - is as
highly developed. I believe that the European Union is also aware of this.

        "If I am not mistaken, Hungary is the only Central European country
which has sent its memorandum to Brussels and to the member states of the
Union as to how it conceives the conditions of integration, how it wants to
gradually expand cooperation with the EU. This can be of interest for the
Czech side," Horn added.

        Horn said the task of the basic agreements with Slovakia and Romania
is to set down the most important principles of bilateral relations, and the
norms of the EU or the Council of Europe referring to national minorities.
"This would definitely be a huge step forward," he said, "even if the content
of
these international norms does not fully satisfy Hungary's demands."

Horn Attends Austrian Conference


        Vienna, February 24 (MTI) - At a conference to mark the 75th
anniversary of the Austrian Labour Chamber and to discuss individualism and
solidarity, Hungarian Prime Minister Horn said never before has a democratic
left wing party faced a task similar to the one in Hungary - to build a market
economy and capitalism in ways different to those in the past.

        The original accumulation of capital in the west developed from
grassroots level, and the situation is reversed in Hungary.

        He cited the unprecedented mass privatization among future tasks
which he described as particularly hard and important.

        "The European Union association agreement has produced a new
challenge for an obsolete economy," he added that meantime one must not
forget about certain nationalist trends in the region "which the democratic
left-
wing will obviously oppose."

        Unfortunately, people only sense the drawbacks of a conversion to a
market economy for the time being, Horn feared.

Horn's Talks in Vienna - News Conference


        Budapest, February 24 (MTI) - Hungary asks the European Union to
involve it in the drafting of its White Paper, thus enabling the country to
comment on the details of its admission to the organization, Hungarian Prime
Minister Gyula Horn told European social democratic leaders at a Viennese
lunch hosted by Federal Chancellor Franz Vranitzky today.

        Horn consulted with Rudolf Scharping, Chairman of the Social
Democratic Party of Germany, Johannes Rau, Minister-President of North
Rhine-Westphalia, Nyrep Rasmussen, Danish Prime Minister, Paavo Lipponen,
Chairman of the Finnish Social Democratic Party, Mona Sahlin, Swedish
Deputy Prime Minister, and Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian Prime Minister.
Besides the chancellor, Austria was represented by Heinz Fischer, President of
the National Council, and Brigitte Ederer, State Secretary in charge of
European affairs.

        After the lunch, Horn told Hungarian reporters that he had been asked
to outline Hungary's position on its accession to the European Union. He
asked the politicians in attendance to support Hungary's endeavour to join the
Union.

        Horn said he expected the 1996 EU prime ministerial conference to fix
the details of Hungary's admission.

        Concerning Hungary's entry into NATO, the Hungarian premier asked
his country to be involved in the drafting of the White Paper of the military
alliance.

        The participants shared the view that there was a chance for talks on
Hungary's admission to both organizations to start next year.
        
        The topics discussed included Hungary's relationship with its
neighbours and the conclusion of basic treaties with them.

        Horn's negotiating partners considered it desirable for Hungary to sett
le
its ties with its neighbours, and described the basic treaties as important
steps
on this road.

        The European social democratic politicians were interested in the role
Hungary was playing in the settlement of the Chechen crisis in the capacity of
OSCE Chairman-in-Office.

        Horn has asked his Austrian hosts to reopen the veterinary health
station, vital for the Hungarian economy, at the Rabafuzes border-crossing
point. He expressed the desire that Chancellor Vranitzky would personally help
settle the problem.

Prime Minister Receives Richard Holbrooke


        Budapest, February 25 (MTI) - Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn on
Saturday received Richard Holbrooke, the Assistant U.S. Secretary of State in
charge of European affairs.

        Holbrooke is in Hungary to attend the regional conference of American
ambassadors accredited to the Central and Eastern European region.

        While in Hungary, Richard Holbrooke is also meeting with senior
officials of the Hungarian government.

        Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn on Saturday received Richard
Holbrooke, the Assistant U.S. Secretary of State in charge of European affairs.

        Holbrooke is in Hungary to attend the regional conference of American
ambassadors accredited to the Central and Eastern European region.

        Also present at the nearly two hours-long meeting were U.S. Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury David Lipton, and A. Fried, National Security
director
of the White House.

        According to information from the Prime Minister's Cabinet Office,
discussions were held about Hungarian-American relations, and the visit of
Prime Minister Horn to the United States, planned for June.

        Horn briefed his guests about the decisions with which the government
wishes to stabilize the country's economic situation and with which, alongside
creating balance, it can ensure the conditions of lasting growth.

        The Prime Minister stressed the government firmly intends to speed up
the privatization process.

        Security issues of the region were also reviewed at the meeting, and, i
n
connection with this, the probable enlargement of NATO.

        Holbrooke said the American administration follows with great
attention, and is satisfied to note, that talks with the neighbouring countries
have been accelerated. The Assistant Secretary of State voiced the hope that
the conclusion of the basic agreements will also contribute to stabilizing the
region, and ensuring its security.

Holbrooke's Talks in Budapest


        Budapest, February 24 (MTI) - Hungary and the United States of America
are already partners and moving in the direction of becoming allies, Laszlo
Kovacs, Hungarian Foreign Minister, and Richard Holbrooke, U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State in charge of European and Canadian affairs, told reporters
after their one-hour negotiation in Budapest on Friday afternoon.
        Following visits to Slovakia and Romania, Holbrooke arrived in
Budapest today to attend a regional meeting of U.S. ambassadors this
weekend.
        
        Today he met Gyorgy Suranyi, the new President of the National Bank of
Hungary, and Lajos Bokros, who will take up office as finance minister on
March 1.

        In the evening, Holbrooke hosted a gala dinner in honour of President
Arpad Goncz and Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs. Tomorrow he is scheduled
to meet Prime Minister Gyula Horn.

        Holbrooke told Kovacs that in 1995 NATO would not admit any new
member, but in September or early October this year it would send a
delegation to Budapest to clarify details of the process of its enlargement.

        As part of this process, NATO plans to hold talks with each member
state of the Partnership for Peace scheme this year. A genuine consideration
of the concrete timetable of enlargement can only start after these talks, he
said.

        In reply to a question, Holbrooke said the U.S. government did not thin
k
that Russia was posing any threat to Hungary today. He added that "although
Chechnya forms part of Russia, what is happening there is not an internal
affair. Nevertheless, the war in Chechnya does not threaten Central Europe."

        Holbrooke exchanged views with the central bank president, the
incoming finance minister and the foreign minister on Hungary's economic
situation, with special regard to stability.

        "Progress in talks on the Hungarian-Romanian and Hungarian-Slovak
basic treaties has filled me with a great deal of hope," Holbrooke said.

        The assistant secretary of state said that Romanian President Ion
Iliescu, Slovak President Michal Kovac and Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir
Meciar had assured him of their firm commitment to the basic treaties.
Holbrooke quoted them as saying that they wish to sign documents which will
satisfy both their nations and Hungary.

        Holbrooke said the treaties would be of particular importance for
stability in Central Europe.

        Kovacs said his negotiating partner had confirmed that Hungary would
in any case belong to the group of countries which may join NATO.


Hungarian Foreign State Secretary in USA


        Washington, February 24 (MTI) - Istvan Szent-Ivanyi, Hungarian State
Secretary of Foreign Affairs who held talks with senior U.S. government and
Congress officials in the past four days, said he experienced a great deal of
flexibility and willingness to cooperate concerning Hungary's admission to
NATO and the development of bilateral ties.

        Szent-Ivanyi told MTI today that his visit marked the beginning of a
series of top-level foreign policy talks between the two countries: Foreign
Minister Laszlo Kovacs is scheduled to visit the United States in April,
Defence
Minister Gyorgy Keleti in May, and Prime Minister Gyula Horn in June.

        "There are no disputed issues or conflicts between the two countries,"
Szent-Ivanyi said.

        His negotiating partners welcomed the appointment of the new finance
minister and the new central bank president, describing them as experts of
good international reputation.

        The American negotiators said they expected Hungary to take concrete
steps to start economic and financial stabilization and lend an impetus to
privatization.

        Washington highly appreciates Hungary's efforts to settle its ties with

its neighbours, Szent-Ivanyi said.
        
        According to his impression, the U.S. government places less emphasis
on the conclusion of basic treaties; it rather presses for the development of a
more relaxed atmosphere and balanced co-existence.

        Szent-Ivanyi found it remarkable that the question whether Hungary as a

NATO member would try to prevent the admission of Romania was raised at
several places.

        The state secretary said he answered all anxious questions in a
reassuring way, denying that Hungary has such intentions.

        Szent-Ivanyi said that both the government and the Congress were
unambiguously committed to supporting Hungary's entry into NATO.

        As far as the timing and terms of admission are concerned, the
government seems to conceive a gradual, long-term process, while the
Congress urges to determine the deadlines, the scope of new members and
the schedule as soon as possible, the state secretary said.

        "Washington seems to be afraid that quick admission would only
provoke aggressive forces and help revive imperial aspirations," he said.

        Szent-Ivanyi quoted informal sources as saying that Hungary would be
granted USD 5 million from the sum of USD 100 million earmarked by the
United States in support for the states involved in the Partnership for Peace
programme.

        On behalf of the Hungarian government, Szent-Ivanyi welcomed that the
U.S. government had lifted the ban on the sale of sophisticated military
technology. He said Hungary was mainly interested in anti-aircraft systems.

        On Friday afternoon the state secretary continued his talks in New York

N E W S L E T T E R

from the Daily Bulletin of the Hungarian News Agency MTI
distributed by the Department for Press and International Information
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Hungary

H-1394, Budapest P.O.B. 423.
Telephone: 36 (1) 156-8000
Telefax: 36 (1) 156-3801
No. 44/1995                                                             01 Marc
h 1995

Horn to Visit Russia and the U.S.


        Budapest, February 28 (MTI) - Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn
will pay an official visit to Russia and Kazakhstan from March 6 to 9, foreign
affairs spokesman Gabor Szentivanyi announced at his customary press
conference on Tuesday.

        Horn and Russian President Boris Yeltsin will exchange copies of the
Hungarian-Russian bilateral treaty ratified by the parliaments of both
countries.

        The talks in Russia will mainly concern economic questions and
bilateral links, while the subject of the discussions in Kazakhstan will be the
development of business ties. Here a consular agreement, and agreements
on aviation and road transport will also be signed.

        At the news briefing, Parliamentary Foreign Ministry State Secretary
Istvan Szent-Ivanyi reported on his negotiations last week in Washington
and New York. His assessment is that relations between Hungary and the
United States are problem-free and economic links are developing well. The
state secretary said further visits to the United States would be made by
Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs in April, followed by Defence Minister
Gyorgy Keleti. In June, Prime Minister Gyula Horn will also visit the United
States.

New Hungarian Ministers Take Oath


        Budapest, February 28 (MTI) - The two new ministers in Hungary's
government - Finance Minister Lajos Bokros and Minister without Portfolio
Tamas Suchman in charge of privatization - took an official oath on
Tuesday afternoon.

        Dr Lajos Bokros was born in Budapest in 1954. From 1973 he studied
at Karl Marx University of Economics and received a degree in economic
planning in 1978. He attended, in 1978-79, a postgraduate course at the
State University of Panama, where he also wrote his doctoral thesis.

        He was associate staff member with the Finance Research Institute
affiliated to the Finance Ministry from 1980 to 1982. He participated in
government committees setting up the two-tier banking system.

        Meanwhile, he spent six months attending a course of the
International Monetary Fund in Washington.

        After closure of the Finance Research Institute, in late 1987, he was
transferred to the National Bank, where he was first deputy head of the
chief department of economics, and from March 1989 executive director.

        In June 1990, he was elected president of the Budapest Stock
Exchange, and in July 1991 he became president and managing director of
Budapest Bank.

        Dr Tamas Suchman was born in Marcali in 1954.

        He received a law degree from the Janus Pannonius University of
Law in Pecs in 1980.

        In 1972 and 1973 he was a haulage contractor.

        From 1975 to 1989 he worked as an official at the Marcali office of the

Somogy County Council, and later at the town council as head of
department.

        Since May 1989 he has been the director of the Marcali branch of the
Budapest Bank.

        On October 15, 1990, he won a parliamentary seat via the national list
of the Hungarian Socialist Party.

Hungary-EU Conference on White Paper


        Budapest, February 28 (MTI) - Talks between representatives of the
Hungarian government and the European Commission on the legal and
institutional conditions related to Hungary's joining the European Union's
internal market have been completed.

        After the talks, the Chairman of the European Affairs Office of the
Hungarian Ministry of Industry and Trade, Peter Gottfried, and the leader of
the European Commission's delegation, Susan Binns, held a joint press
conference in Budapest.
        Binns announced that the final text of the so-called White Paper will
be ready by the end of April or early May at the latest. The European
Commission compiles the paper so as to help associate countries prepare
for full membership by clarifying requirements.

        During now-ended talks, Hungarian officials were informed about
how the White Paper was drafted, while officials of the European
Commission learned of Hungarian plans.

Defence Minister's Press Conference - NATO


        Budapest, February 28 (MTI) - "NATO will give conditions to
countries hoping to join by the end of this year," Hungarian Minister of
Defence Gyorgy Keleti said in Budapest on Tuesday.

        Keleti was speaking to journalists following his return from Norway,
where he and Colonel-General Janos Deak, Commander of the Hungarian
Army, had viewed a large-scale NATO military exercise.

        The Minister said he had met NATO Deputy Secretary General Sergio
Balanzino, and gave him Hungarian plans worked out on the basis of
presumed membership expectations. Balanzino said that the requirements
for applying countries will be given in 1995.

        Keleti also said he had agreed with his Norwegian colleague on the
accreditation of the Hungarian military attache in Helsinki to Oslo as well,
as Hungarian military diplomats would like a presence in all NATO member
states.

Hungarian-Russian Basic Agreement Ratified


        Budapest, February 28 (MTI) - On Tuesday Hungarian Parliament
ratified - with 264 votes for, two against, and no abstentions - the
Hungarian-Russian basic agreement.

OSCE - NGOs - Gyarmati


        Budapest, February 28 (MTI) - Ambassador Istvan Gyarmati of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) discussed the
importance of the organization, and his experience in Chechnya, as well as
the cooperation opportunities between the OSCE and the non-government
organizations.

        The Hungarian diplomat said the OSCE should prevent armed
conflicts and to apply preventative steps, in order to resolve the political,
human rights and minority problems with peaceful means.

        The OSCE can have more effect than NATO as it is a comprehensive
group that expresses the will of the international community, and all
countries are its members. Its activity is not restricted to one or two forms
like the military opportunities of NATO or the economic and political means
of the European Union.

        U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Holbrooke was appreciative
of the OSCE's crisis management in Chechnya.

Parliament's Tuesday Workday


        Budapest, February 28 (MTI) - At its session on Tuesday, Hungarian
Parliament approved deportation agreements made with Austria, Slovenia,
Croatia, Slovakia, and Switzerland.

        Parliament ratified - with 264 votes for, two against and no
abstentions - the Hungarian-Russian basic agreement (a pact on friendly
relations between the two countries), and the parliamentary resolution on
the exchange of letters complementing this.

        Before the vote, Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs said the basic
agreement with Russia is of outstanding importance. Russia is Hungary's
most important Eastern partner, with foreign trade turnover valued at an
annual USD 2.5 billion.

        Kovacs stressed the agreement includes the national minorities as
well. The importance of this is enhanced by the fact that there are 25 million
Russians living outside the Russian Federation.

        The Foreign Minister asked for Parliament's approval and indicated
that the ratification documents could be exchanged between the two
countries next week, when Prime Minister Gyula Horn pays an official visit
to Russia.

Hungarian-Russian Basic Agreement - Background


        Budapest, February 28 (MTI) - Hungarian Parliament on Tuesday
ratified the Hungarian-Russian basic agreement.

        It was signed in December, 1991, by then Prime Minister of Hungary
Jozsef Antall, and Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
        The document, which placed relations between Moscow and
Budapest on new bases, came before Hungarian Parliament only now
because Hungary tried to coordinate the process of its ratification with the
process in Russia. The lower house of Russian Parliament, the Duma,
ratified the document on January 13, 1995.

        The reason for the delay in Moscow was a single passage in the
document, condemning the intervention of the Soviet Union in Hungary in
1956. This paragraph was put in the document after it was signed, as
President Yeltsin considered it vital to state the re-examined Russian
position referring to 1956 in the document as well.

        It was in view of the paragraph about 1956 that Russian conservative
MPs began to resist the basic agreement, in January, 1993. They sharply
criticized the draft, and as the result of the debate, it was taken off the
agenda at that time, and returned to the Foreign Affairs Committee for
further consultations.


        After the Russian elections, President Boris Yeltsin visited Hungary
in December, 1994, to attend the European summit, and in the course of his
talks with Hungarian leaders said that the chances for ratifying the basic
agreement were better with the new-composition Russian legislature.

        Six weeks later, in mid-January - more than three years after it was
first signed - the Duma ratified the agreement.

        The contracting sides confirm that all peoples and states have the
right to freely determine their own fate, free from any external intervention.
In order to prevent disputes and to resolve these in a peaceful manner, they
support the creation of pan-European confidence and security-building
structures and means, and the effective operation of these. They contribute
to the creation of such military power relations and defence structures that
are adequate for defence, but which exclude the possibility of attack. They
will hold regular consultations about security and defence issues, and
about ways to further develop bilateral relations.

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Alapitvany tamogatja.

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OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 44, 2 March 1995

HORN MEETS REPRESENTATIVES OF HUNGARIAN MINORITIES. Hungarian Prime
Minister Gyula Horn on 1 March discussed with representatives of the
Hungarian minorities in Romania and Slovakia the basic treaties
currently being negotiated with those countries, MTI and Radio Budapest
reported. The minority representatives raised no objections to the
Hungarian draft of the treaties but want those documents to include
increased guarantees for the protection of minority rights. Miklos
Duray, chairman of the Coexistence movement in Slovakia, said that the
Slovak side will have to make a "political turnabout" if the treaty is
to be signed by 20 March. Bela Marko, chairman of the Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania, stressed that the basic treaty must go
a long way toward solving the problems of Hungarians in Romania.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs told reporters that the
Hungarian side will make every effort to sign the treaties by 20 March.
-- Edith Oltay, OMRI, Inc.

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Alapitvany tamogatja.

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Thursday, 02 March 1995
Volume 2, Issue 44


BUSINESS NEWS
-------------

**HUNGARY OILS ITS ECONOMIC MACHINE**
  The Hungarian state-run oil compnany MOL has fully absorbed the
  country's fuel trading compnay Mineralimpex.  The smaller firm
  will remain independent, as a subsidiary of MOL.  Hungary's
  State Holding Company says it wants to make MOL more
  attractive to investors.  Both MOL and the country's
  electrical utility, MVM, are tagged for privatization this
  year.


**HUNGARIAN PROPERTY AGENCY DROPS DEAD WEIGHT, IT HOPES**
  A majority stake in the Hungarian car repair firm Spiral Auto
  has been sold to a MOL subsidiary.  Interag bought 85.5
  percent of Spiral for nearly $1.5 million.  The Hungarian
  State Property Agency says it sold Spiral at a low price
  because it believes the ailing firm will have to be closed
  down.


**HUNGARIAN AUCTION BLOCK ACTIVE**
  Hungary's state property agency also has announced the sale of
  the state-owned fuel company Tuzep, to a subsidiary of
  Germany's Raab Karcher.  The firm, along with a group of
  Tuzep's managers, paid $7.5 million for Tuzep.  Raab Karcher
  will hold 90 percent of the company, the management consortium
  will keep the rest.  Raab Karcher also says it plans to invest
  a little more than $1 million in Tuzep over the next six
  months.



BUSINESS FEATURE
----------------

**TRAVEL BARGAINS STILL TO BE HAD**
  By David Fondler

  People are starting to travel again following the traditional
  post-holiday season lull.  But while passenger counts are
  going up, airfares remain down, at least through the end of
  this month.  Tim Hyland of Warsaw's Travel Express tells us
  what the best round trip economy fares are for flying to the
  states:

  "Now and up until the 14th of April there are fares to New York
  for $530 plus taxes; Chicago is $590 plus taxes; Miami, San
  Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, they're all at the
  same price which is $720 plus taxes."

  These fares are pretty much the same among most major airlines,
  and from Budapest and Prague as well. One difference between
  various cities of the region is that the so-called shoulder
  season, before summer, begins at different times.  Once April
  rolls around, you can expect rates to go up $60 to $70  across
  the board.  They'll increase again in June, by another $60 to
  $80.  And, according to Robert Toth, head of Tradesco Tours in
  Budapest, something else happens during the "shoulder" season.

  "The disparity in the airlines fares becomes greater. We've
  found disparity of as much as $200 to a destination on the
  market fares that are offered by the carriers in Budapest.
  Primarily to destinations like the west coast, primarily to
  the internal Unites States, you know Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas,
  etc."

  So, if you plan to fly between April and June, it pays to shop
  around.  And, Toth says travellers out of Hungary can reap
  even more savings if they buy their tickets in hard currency
  and the forint is devalued before flight time, or before they
  receive their credit card bills.  The Hungarian government
  plans incremental currency devaluations of 1-2 percent
  throughout the year.

  "My recommendation to passengers is: for this summer, buy your
  tickets early.  Because if you're buying it in local currency,
  at least in Hungary, and you're putting it on a credit card
  where you're debited in hard currency, you're going to get
  some of the best hard currency deals."

  Another way to save from currency devaluation is to buy a
  refundable ticket, and then turn it back in when the currency
  is devalued, only to repurchase it again.  Toth says some
  airlines, anticipating devaluation, have built in a mechanism
  against this tactic, the discount:

  "Right now the carriers are trying to sell in advance.  We have
  a program with Delta, if you pay for your ticket 7 days after
  you book it, you get a lower fare than if you leave it to the
  last minute.  The difference in the fares is about 10 percent,
  which is the anticipated forint devaluation over an aggregate
  period of time."

  Meanwhile, travellers in Warsaw can benefit from an apparent
  fare war between British Airways and LOT Polish Airlines on
  flights to London.  Hyland, of Travel Express, says he's not
  sure who fired the first shot:

  "What we saw was that the price went from $340 to $310 and that
  was done by LOT.  Which British Airways not only matched, but
  drove the price further down to $299.  LOT has now since
  matched that since the first of March.  I think this is
  indicative of the ambitions of both airlines that they're
  willing to let a small warfare -- or fare war break out."

  It's not the first time LOT and BA have grappled in Warsaw.
  Early last year, British Airways banned all direct flights
  between Warsaw and London for three months in a dispute over
  early-morning departure times.  Hyland says while these feuds
  are bad for business, they can be very good for
  bargain-hunting travellers.



ANALYSIS
--------

**OLD SOCIALIST LEOPARDS CAN LEARN NEW TRICKS**
  Interview with Donald Blinken, US Ambassador to Hungary, part II
  By Duncan Shiels

  Budapest is under considerable pressure from NATO and the
  European Union to conclude basic treaties with its neighbors.
  Among other things, these treaties are intended to enshrine
  the rights of ethnic minorities and nail down regional
  borders.  United States Ambassador to Hungary Donald Blinken
  talks about that issue and the return of former communists to
  power in the region in the second part of a three part
  interview.

  CET:  How were the talks at the conference on minority issues
  between yourself and the ambassadors to Romania and Slovakia?

  Blinken:  All those talks were very illuminating. The general
  consensus was that, notwithstanding differences in the past,
  these countries are now beginning to focus much more
  effectively on the future.  Just being obsessed with the past
  and the rights or wrongs of the past is going to get no-one
  anyplace and as a result there's a better feeling now that
  there will be treaties signed between Hungary and its two
  neighbors to the north and to the south - hopefully by the
  third week in March, but if not, shortly thereafter - dealing
  essentially with all of the issues that have been raised in
  recent years.  So I think we all agree that the three
  governments are acting in good faith. There are genuine
  problems.  Not all of the problems are caused by the
  governments of these countries, there are other sources of
  these problems, but having said all of that there is goodwill
  and a recognition which I think is equally important that
  solving these issues through mutually agreed upon treaties is
  essential if any of these countries are to become members of
  NATO.

  CET: Now to what extent is solving the problem with an eye on
  NATO and an eye on the European Union a genuine motive for
  solving the problem.  To what extent are they behaving that
  way because they have to?

  Blinken:  I think the NATO issue, the NATO relevance to these
  discussions is extremely important because whatever the
  motivation, NATO is a very, very strong carrot and stick. It's
  a carrot in that solving these problems is going to help
  enormously in making it easier for these countries to become
  welcomed by NATO.  Not solving them, on the contrary, is the
  stick which is going to make it very difficult, if not
  impossible, for them to join NATO.  So that there's a mutual
  understanding and there's also a recognition, at least on the
  part of the Hungarian government - I can't speak for the
  Slovakians or the Romanians -  that Hungary doesn't want to be
  treated separately in these issues by NATO or by the EU, that
  what's good for Hungary in the context of EU and NATO will
  also be good for Romania and good for Slovakia.  And if all
  three countries are happy and satisfied with their
  relationship then their local bilateral relations will also
  prosper.

  CET:  Now, under the same category of regional issues I noticed
  under the session titles one: Return of the, inverted commas,
  "Communists."  I'm fairly curious as to know what was
  discussed at that part of the meeting.

  Blinken:  Well, there was a question about whether there is any
  permanent disability attached to the way a country of this
  region is viewed by Western investors, by Western governments,
  if so-called former Communists, or more accurately former
  Socialists, have come back to power - and they have in most of
  these countries.  I think our conclusion was unanimous.  It
  doesn't matter what they call themselves, it's what they do
  that counts.

  CET:  Well, in a certain sense, they have implemented more
  Socialist policies. You've mentioned again the slowdown in
  privatisation in Poland and in Hungary. Does that matter?

  Blinken:  I don't think that's a Socialist policy.  I think that
  was simply an inability of a new government to get its act
  together and to understand clearly what is required in the way
  of transparency, and efficiency in political arms length to
  get privatisation moving again.  But I think you could find
  problems like that in a country with an entirely different
  political history.  I don't think I would put a political
  label on it.  I would just say that it's the old problem of
  bureaucracy and timidity getting in the way of what has to be
  done.

  CET:  So the conclusion was that leopards can indeed change
  their spots?

  Blinken:  Or let's put it this way.  Spots are not that
  important, it's what the leopard does, whether the leopard has
  a nice quiet lunch or whether it invades a neighbour's
  barnyard and eats its chickens.  So I think the leopard's
  spots are less important than the leopard's behaviour.



ABOUT CET ON-LINE
-----------------

* CET On-Line - copyright (c) 1995 Word Up! Inc. All rights reserved.
  This publication may be freely forwarded, archived, or
  otherwise distributed in electronic format only so long as
  this notice, and all other information contained in this
  publication is included.  For-profit distribution of this
  publication or the information contained herein is strictly
  prohibited.  For more information, contact the publishers.

*****************************************************************
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*****************************************************************



OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 45, 3 March 1995

..WHILE OPPOSITION ALLIANCE CONTINUES TO DISINTEGRATE. The Executive
Committee of the Democratic Convention of Romania (CDR), the country's
main opposition alliance, reiterated on 2 March that the CDR's revised
protocols were not subject to further negotiation. CDR Chairman Emil
Constantinescu was quoted by Radio Bucharest as saying the CDR
considered the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania to have
withdrawn from the coalition, since it refused to sign the protocols. In
what appeared as a last-ditch attempt to avoid further defection from
the CDR, the leaders of two more parties that have refused to sign the
documents--the Liberal Party '93 and the Party of Civic Alliance--were
invited to attend the meeting. But both LP leader Horia Rusu and PCA
chairman Nicolae Manolescu expressed dismay over the atmosphere at the
meeting, with Manolescu complaining about "a certain lack of democracy"
in the alliance. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

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Friday, 03 March 1995
Volume 2, Issue 45


REGIONAL NEWS
-------------

**CHECHNYA IS OSCE PRIORITY**
  The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or
  OSCE, is going to try to set up a permanent mission in
  Chechnya.  Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs made that
  announcement yesterday, speaking in his capacity as current
  OSCE chairman.  Kovacs says the mission would try to help
  restore law and order in Chechnya and monitor human rights
  there.  Kovacs said he could not comment on allegations that
  Russia has set up detention centers and used torture in
  Chechnya.  Those issues will be addressed by the OSCE's second
  delegation to Chechnya which returned this week.  Kovacs will
  accompany Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn on a visit to
  Moscow on Monday.


**NEW AUSTRIAN-HUNGARIAN BORDER STATION TO RELIEVE TRAFFIC**
  Hungarian and Austrian border and customs officials yesterday
  unveiled their second joint truck inspection center for meat
  and produce shipments.  Vienna is hoping the new center will
  give a boost to its plans to adopt European Union inspection
  standards.  The $4 million expansion at Rabafuzes in southwest
  Hungary is being funded by the EU's Phare program.  Phare has
  given Hungary $15 million to create a total of five truck
  inspection centers around the country.  The Rabafuzes
  checkpoint is expected to alleviate congestion at the
  overburdened Hegyeshalom border crossing in northwest Hungary.
  Since the war in the former Yugoslavia erupted three years
  ago, trucks from Turkey and Greece have been rerouted from the
  Balkans.  They have increased Austro-Hungarian border traffic by
  nearly 70 percent.  As a result, inspections at Hegyeshalom
  were sometimes hurried and sloppy and truckers and tourists
  were forced to wait several hours.  Now they will be separated
  and tourists should not have to wait very long.  Truckers are
  welcoming the new inspection center.  Hungarian Laszlo Nagy
  transports a load of timber from Hungary to Austria everyday.

  "The test of the pudding is to eat it.  We'll have to see how it
  works.  Time is money in this business.  My bosses are very
  happy that we'll be able to move through here more quickly.
  It's good that they're bringing this up to the European Union
  standards.  The Hungarian border control hasn't been bad, but
  it could be better.  If they can stamp our papers in five
  minutes instead of 30 minutes, they should do it in five."

  But Nagy would face a different situation if he had to cross
  Hungary's eastern border.  At some Hungarian-Romanian
  checkpoints, the truckers regularly wait on unpaved roads, 10
  hours, 15 hours, even a day or two.  But Hungary is going to
  devote the rest of its Phare funds to that region, building
  four truck inspection centers at its borders with Romania and
  Ukraine over the next few years. --Michael Jordan



BUSINESS NEWS
-------------

**HUNGARY'S SURANYI SAYS ECONOMIC "SHOCK THERAPY" NOT NEEDED**
  Hungary's new central bank president Gyorgy Suranyi says the
  country does not need so-called shock therapy -- or rapid
  market reforms -- to revive the economy.  In an interview on
  Hungarian television, Suranyi also reaffirmed earlier
  statements that a large currency devaluation is not in the
  cards.  The country's money markets have been anticipating a
  large devaluation for weeks.  Suranyi says his earlier
  comments were to dispel those rumors, adding that he won't
  normally comment on central bank monetary policies.


**NISSAN CHANGING HUNGARIAN PARTS AND SERVICE CONTRACTORS**
  Nissan Trading Company Limited has formed a new company in
  Hungary to repair Nissans and provide spare parts.  The
  company - - Euromore Trading -- is a subsidiary of the
  London-based Nissan Trading Europe.  Nissan ended its parts
  and service contract with its Hungarian car distributor,
  Nissan Hungary, last year. Euromore may start importing
  Nissans to Hungary in the near future.



ANALYSIS
--------

**US POLICY TOWARD CENTRAL EUROPE EVOLVING WITH TIME**
  Interview with US Amabassador to Hungary Donald Blinken, part III
  By Duncan Shiels

  US President Bill Clinton is warning against what he calls a
  new isolationism with the Republican-dominated Congress
  already considering legislation to cut America's contributions
  to the United Nations and reduce its military committments
  abroad.  With that backdrop, US Ambassador to Hungary Donald
  Blinken organized a conference of his counterparts in the
  region last weekend.  As the United States reassesses its role
  in the world, Blinken insists Central Europe is still a
  prority.

  CET:  How has US policy towards Central Europe evolved since the
  break-up of the Soviet Union?

  Blinken:  There has been, I think, a change in emphasis in the
  last year, year and a half.  I think there was a period of
  time at the end of the cold war when the United States, after
  breathing a big sigh of relief and enjoying the vindication of
  its ideals and its policies, felt, "Look, the problems are not
  in Central Europe.  Those countries have liberated themselves
  and they're doing fine. Let's worry about the former Soviet
  Union and other places." I think that attitude has changed a
  great deal in the last year, year and a half, two years, with
  the recognition that the countries that are our friends, that
  have demonstrated their desire to become part of NATO, to
  become part of Western institutions deserve support.  They
  can't be allowed simply to make their own way or find their
  own way.  While we want to bring Russia and the Ukraine and
  the other former Soviet countries into a world order and a
  European order that is peaceful and prosperous, that is no
  excuse for leaving Central Europe to drift on its own.  So
  Central Europe has become increasingly important and there is
  no area in the world that is more important to the United
  States at the present time.

  CET:  Now the conference at the weekend also discussed the title
  "Russia's attitude."  Was the attitude defined?

  Blinken:  There is obviously a great concern for developments in
  Russia, certainly internal developments are troublesome in
  that there's uncertainty as to the direction both the Russian
  economy and the Russian political institutions may take.  And
  that, of course is why the Clinton Administration and the
  American people have been generally supportive of President
  Yeltsin and his policies, which seem to be liberal and
  reformist.  The important thing is that Russia should not be
  surprised by anything the United States, NATO or the Central
  Europeans do.  Our NATO expansion plans are very transparent,
  they are going to be very slow and gradual because we don't
  want any alarms or excitement on the part of the Russians or
  anyone else about sudden changes or lurches in one direction
  or another.  And the Russians clearly have been told that NATO
  will expand, it will expand gradually and carefully, that the
  Russians will not be permitted to tell us or tell NATO who can
  or cannot join, but at the same time the Russians will be
  fully consulted and be kept fully informed as to what is going
  on and why it's going on, because its in our interest that the
  Russians feel comfortable in whatever relationship they
  eventually evolve with NATO in the years to come.

  CET:  I wonder if Ambassador Rey from Warsaw expressed perhaps a
  Polish fear that while the words say the process is being
  slowed down by Russia, the fact that it is so gradual is due
  to the presence of Russia, the threat of Russia and that
  Poland is probably the strongest of the Central Europeans that
  advocate as quick a possible integration as necessary?

  Blinken:  That's a fair comment, I think, Duncan.  The Poles do
  have a very different history from the Czechs or the
  Hungarians and they have a different political outlook, and
  they're focussed apparently - and I'm speaking now second-hand
  because I'm not an expert on Poland - is largely concerned
  with their military security, in the most commonly defined
  sense of that word.  And I should think for example that the
  Hungarians today are far more worried about the possible
  unknown consequences of an expanded war in former Yugoslavia
  than they are about the fomer Soviet Union.  So that their
  views, the Poles' views may be somewhat different, but each of
  them have a valid reason for feeling why NATO's important
  based on their own history, their own geography, their own
  experience.



ABOUT CET ON-LINE
-----------------

* CET On-Line - copyright (c) 1995 Word Up! Inc. All rights reserved.
  This publication may be freely forwarded, archived, or
  otherwise distributed in electronic format only so long as
  this notice, and all other information contained in this
  publication is included.  For-profit distribution of this
  publication or the information contained herein is strictly
  prohibited.  For more information, contact the publishers.

*****************************************************************
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Alapitvany tamogatja.

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