RFE/RL NEWSLINE 
Vol 1, No. 193, 12 January 1998

HUNGARIAN SMALLHOLDERS ACCUSE BLAIR OF
FAVORITISM.  The Independent Smallholders Party (FKGP)
says that a recent letter from British Prime Minister Tony Blair
to his Hungarian counterpart, Gyula Horn, welcoming the latter
as an ally at the 1999 NATO summit amounts to interference in
the upcoming Hungarian elections, Hungarian media reported
on 10 January. As the U.K. currently holds the EU presidency,
Blair's remarks can be interpreted by Hungarian voters to
represent the position of the EU, the statement concludes.
Meanwhile, former FKGP deputy chairwoman Agnes Nagy
Maczo, who was dismissed from the party last October,
announced on 9 January that various non-parliamentary clubs
and parties have established the New Alliance for Hungary. The
group is not a political party but will field candidates in the
elections. MSZ

HUNGARY MAKES PROGRESS IN PAYING ITS DEBTS.
Hungarian National Bank President Gyorgy Suranyi told
"Nepszabadsag" on 10 January that Hungary has reduced its
gross foreign debt from $33 billion in 1995 to $22 billion at
present and its net foreign debts  from $21 billion in 1995 to
$10.5 billion. He noted that the bulk of privatization revenues
were used to repay the debts and stressed that the trend was
sustainable. Meanwhile, a report by the London-based
Economist Intelligence Unit says the stability of the country's
institutions and the advanced state of its reforms put Hungary
in first place on the list of countries aspiring to EU membership.
MSZ

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