RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE  22 March 2000

SLOVAK PRESIDENT DISCUSSES ROMANY MINORITIES WITH HUNGARIAN
COUNTERPART. Rudolf Schuster met with his Hungarian
counterpart, Arpad Goncz, in Budapest on 21 March for talks
that focused on Slovakia's efforts to gain membership in the
EU, minority rights in both countries, and regional and
economic cooperation, TASR reported. The Slovak head of state
said he would like to integrate Hungary's experiences with
its Roma minority into a recently formed Czech-Slovak project
dealing with the issue. However, Goncz said the issue cannot
be resolved at an international level. Instead, he said the
problems of the Romany minority must be addressed in each
community where Roma live, Slovak Radio reported. Schuster
said relations between the two countries have never had such
great prospects as they do today, and he thanked Hungary for
its support of Slovakia's efforts to join NATO and the EU.
Also on 21 March, Slovak Education Minister Milan Ftacnik and
his Hungarian counterpart, Zoltan Pokorny, signed an
agreement on the mutual recognition of university diplomas.
VG

HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT VOTES ON TRUNCATED DUNA TV BOARD. The
parliament on 21 March voted in favor of a four-member,
instead of eight-member, board of trustees for the satellite
Duna Television, Hungarian media report. As in the case of
Hungarian National Television and Hungarian Radio, the
opposition failed to nominate joint candidates to the board
of trustees. The parliament, therefore, voted only on the
four ruling coalition representatives. The opposition
Hungarian Socialist Party and the Alliance of Free Democrats
objected to the vote. MSZ

HUNGARY RAISES TISZA POLLUTION ISSUE IN BRUSSELS TALKS. The
repeated contamination of the Tisza River raises the issue of
Romania's liability, Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi told
reporters in Brussels on 21 March. Romanian Foreign Minister
Petre Roman, who is also in Brussels, admitted that the
recent cyanide spill along the Tisza could have been
prevented if greater attention had been paid to the potential
risks when planning and building the reservoir near Baia
Mare. EU Commissioner for Enlargement Guenter Verheugen said
"the polluter pays" principle must be applied in the dispute.
MSZ

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