RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE 11 February 2000

HUNGARY'S FIDESZ REJECTS CSURKA'S COALITION OFFER. Istvan
Csurka, chairman of the opposition extreme-right Hungarian
Justice and Life Party (MIEP), confirmed on 10 February that
his party expects to enter into a coalition with the ruling
Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party (FIDESZ-
MPP) in 2002, Hungarian media reported. FIDESZ deputy
chairman Zoltan Illes responded by saying that "no one in the
party's leadership is considering this possibility." Illes
said he respects the fact that MIEP won seats in the
parliament through the will of the voters but noted that
FIDESZ will not work with the radical right. MSZ

CYANIDE SPILL CAUSES DISASTER IN HUNGARY. The cyanide spill
into the Romanian part of the Tisza River has resulted in
more than 10 tons of toxic waste, the daily "Vilaggazdasag"
reported on 11 February. European Commission Vice President
Loyola de Palacio said in Budapest that the EU will examine
the possibility of compensating Hungary for the damage.
Hungarian Environment Minister Pal Pepo and Romanian Deputy
Environment Minister Anton Vlad, meeting in the Romanian town
of Oradea, agreed to set up an interministerial committee to
assess the damage. Brett Montgomery, the president of the
Australian company that co-owns the Romanian company from
which the cyanide originated, said reports about an
environmental disaster are "grossly exaggerated." MSZ 

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