RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE  17 May 1999

CENTRAL EUROPEAN PRESIDENTS BACK G-8 STANCE ON KOSOVA.
In Lviv on 15 May, the presidents of nine Central
European countries urged the Yugoslav government to
accept the G-8 plan for ending the Kosova crisis. That
plan calls for the deployment of international
peacekeepers, the withdrawal of Serbian forces, and
substantial autonomy for Kosova. The heads of states
also proposed a "high-level conference on southeastern
Europe" to work out a "comprehensive strategy for the
stabilization of the entire region through economic
reconstruction and the promotion of democracy." The
statement--signed by the presidents of Austria,
Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland,
Romania, Slovenia, and Ukraine--condemned ethnic
cleansing in Kosova and deplored civilian deaths because
of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia. Ukrainian President
Kuchma was the only head of state at the Lviv summit to
call on NATO to stop its air strikes. JM

BREAKTHROUGH IN HUNGARIAN-SLOVAK DAM TALKS. The Slovak
delegation to talks on the Nagymaros-Gabcikovo dam on 14
May in Budapest agreed to let Hungary draw up a proposal
by September on how to bring about the joint operation
of the Gabcikovo hydropower plant without building a
second dam on the Danube, Hungarian media reported. The
two parties also agreed that Budapest will outline its
ideas on matters concerning the environment, flood
protection, energy, and shipping. Laszlo Szekely, head
of the Hungarian delegation, said Slovakia's readiness
to discuss Hungary's position is "a success in itself,"
as Bratislava had earlier insisted on the implementation
of the 1977 bilateral agreement. MSZ

ROMANIA'S HUNGARIAN FEDERATION RE-ELECTS LEADER. At a
15-16 May congress in Miercurea-Ciuc, the Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) re-elected
chairman Bela Marko for another four-year term, an
RFE/RL correspondent reported. Marko criticized
Romania's governing coalition, in which the UDMR is a
partner, for not following its program with regard to
minority issues. He also acknowledged that the status of
minorities in Romania, while still not "perfect," has
significantly improved over the last decade. The
congress, which was marked by heated debates between
"radical" and "moderate" wings, modified the UDMR's
statute and program to include a "strategic partnership"
with Romanians from Transylvania. The congress also
adopted a statement describing the NATO campaign in
Yugoslavia as "inevitable and justified." ZSM

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