N E W S L E T T E R
Republic of Hungary Budapest, 1394 . 423
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Telephone:36(1)156-8000
Press Department Telefax: 36(1) 156-3801
7/1995. Budapest, January 12, 1995
Hungarian Press Review
Budapest, January 10 (MTI) - The following is a summary of articles
carried on Tuesday by the Hungarian national dailies:
Nepszava - The crisis in Chechnya will not affect the visit to Moscow
of Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn scheduled for March, Hungarian
Ambassador in Russia Gyorgy Nanovfszky said. The topics of talks are
expected to include former Soviet debts to Hungary, economic cooperation,
Hungarian involvement in Russian privatization and the return to Hungary
of works of art taken away after the Second World War. (page 9)
Nepszabadsag - As matters stand, neither party of the governing
coalition considers it necessary to reshuffle the cabinet, the paper learned
from government circles. Prime Minister Gyula Horn plans to survey the
operation of the socialist-liberal government and, if need be, draw
personnel conclusions in January. (pages 1 and 4)
Nepszava - A proposed amendment to the Foreign Exchange Code
would authorize Hungarian nationals to buy foreign currency for any
purpose, not only tourism. The amendment has still to be approved by the
cabinet and Parliament. (pages 1 and 5)
* * *
Nepszabadsag - At present there are 7,700 registered asylum-seekers
in Hungary but many foreigners staying here have not registered
themselves. From January 1, all registered asylum-seekers will receive a
registration card bearing the photo of its owner. The cards will serve as a
temporary residence permit valid for three months and entitle its holder to
free medical care.
(page 1)
Napi Gazdasag - The Hungarian government has granted another
five-year investment tax concession to Samsung Electronics Hungary Rt.
Having a staff of 200, the company agreed to create 100 new jobs by 1999.
This year it plans to increase its output from last year's 140,000 colour TV
sets to 200,000. (page 3)
US GSP for Hungary Extended Till End of July
Budapest, January 10 (MTI) - Hungarian companies exporting to the
United States will continue to benefit from the GSP (General System of
Preferences) until July 31 this year, a Ministry of Industry and Trade official
told Econews earlier this week.
Following the decision of the US Congress in late November to
extend the GSP, the Senate, on December 1, accepted the proposal to
backdate the GSP for Hungary to October 1, 1994. Thus, Hungarian
companies, which had operated under Most Favoured Nation status since
September 30, when the GSP terminated, may now claim rebates for the
September 30 to December 1 period.
The decision on the extension of the GSP could only be taken once
the new GATT treaty, based on the Uruguay round of talks, had been
ratified, the official added. (Econews)
Hungarian OSCE Envoy Holds Talks on Chechen Crisis in Moscow
Budapest, January 10 (MTI) - Hungarian Ambassador Istvan
Gyarmati, who is representing Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs,
the chairman-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), on Tuesday continued his talks in Moscow on ways to
resolve the situation in Chechnya.
Gyarmati is to meet senior Russian politicians, including Foreign
Minister Andrey Kozyrev, and will hold consultations with representatives
of the troika of the OSCE and the European Union.
Ambassador Gyarmati is hold an international press conference on
Tuesday evening, to report about the results of his talks, according to the
spokesman of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Gabor Szentivanyi.
Speaking at his customary press briefing in Budapest on Tuesday,
Szentivanyi recalled that, based on feed-back so far, the views of the OSCE
member states agree in that the Chechen situation should be settled within
the Russian Federation.
They consider a cessation of fighting, and the peaceful resolution of
the situation through negotiations to be necessary, alongside the active
participation of the OSCE in promoting this.
The Hungarian envoy is holding talks in the Russian capital on the
basis of these principles, he said.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman's Briefing - Chechen Crisis
Budapest, January 10 (MTI) - The Spokesman of the Hungarian
Foreign Ministry, Gabor Szentivanyi, said at his customary press briefing
on Tuesday that Hungarian Ambassador Istvan Gyarmati is continuing his
talks
Gyarmati, who is the personal envoy of the chairman-in-office of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Hungarian
Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs, is to hold talks with senior Russian
politicians, including Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev, Yuri Ushakov, head
of the Russian Foreign Ministry's department in charge of European affairs,
and Nikolai Afanasievsky, the Deputy Minister in charge of European
affairs.
The Hungarian politician will hold consultations with the Moscow
Ambassadors of the troika of the OSCE and the European Union, that is
representatives of Hungary, Italy, Switzerland, and France, Germany and
Spain.
Gyarmati is to hold an international press conference to detail the
results of his talks, on Tuesday evening.
Ambassador Gyarmati is scheduled to travel to the Austrian capital
on Wednesday, to hold coordination talks with the Permanent Council of
the OSCE, with headquarters in Vienna.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman also recalled that the views of the
OSCE member states agree in that the Chechen situation should be settled
within the Russian Federation.
They consider a cessation of fighting, and the peaceful resolution of
the situation through negotiations to be necessary, alongside the active
participation of the OSCE in promoting this.
The Hungarian envoy is holding talks in the Russian capital on the
basis of these principles, Szentivanyi said.
He added that, according to signs, the Moscow leadership treats the
OSCE mission on a high-level and strives to cooperate with the
international organization.
However, as could be sensed earlier, the Russian leaders are less
inclined to involve the OSCE in the political settlement, and would rather
welcome the organization's participation in the humanitarian areas.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman's Briefing - Visits, Talks
Budapest, January 10 (MTI) - The Foreign Ministry spokesman
announced that the Minister of European Affairs of France, Alain
Lamassoure, will pay a one-day working visit to Budapest on January 16, at
the invitation of Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs.
The French politician is to hold talks with his Hungarian partner, and
will meet the Chairmen and members of Parliament's Foreign and European
Integration Affairs Committees.
The political State Secretary of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry,
Istvan Szent-Ivanyi, is to pay a one-day official visit to Ljubljana on January
20, meeting an invitation from Slovenian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs
Ignac Golob.
They are to review bilateral relations, and discuss issues related to
the Balkan crisis and European integration.
The State Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, Ferenc Somogyi, is to
begin a three-day visit to Brussels on January 15. He is to meet EU
Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan, NATO Deputy Secretary General Sergio
Balanzino, and the First Deputy of SCEUR. He is scheduled to meet with the
Secretary General of the Western European Union, Jose Cutileiro, and the
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Assembly, Peter Corterier, and other
high-ranking politicians and diplomats.
The sides are to review issues of the partnership relation between
Hungary and the European integration organizations, and will define the
main tendencies of cooperation.
Answering questions, the spokesman said there is as yet no final
date for the visits of Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs to Zagreb and
Sarajevo, and consultations will probably have to be held in the matter with
the UNPROFOR forces.
The date of Slovak Prime Minister Meciar's planned visit to Budapest
is also being coordinated at present. All the spokesman disclosed in this
matter is that January dates are being discussed.
He added that prior to the meeting, the Hungarian government
wishes to be familiarized with the views of the Hungarians in Slovakia, and
will inform them in detail about the results of talks between the two prime
ministers.
Experiences so far indicate that countries in which there is a
significant Hungarian minority are usually averse to involving the
representatives of the minorities even into expert talks, Szentivanyi said.
Central Budget Deficit Smaller than Planned
Budapest, January 10 (MTI) - The central budget deficit in 1994 was
HUF 321.7 billion, HUF 18.3 billion less than the target deficit contained in
the supplementary budget, Tibor Draskovits, state secretary at the Ministry
of Finance announced on Tuesday.
Revenues of the budget totalled HUF 1,191.3 billion, expenditures
HUF 1,513 billion, thus the deficit was HUF 321.7 billion as against the
planned 340 billion.
Draskovics also said that the deficit of the 1994 budget was smaller
than the envisaged deficit of both the original and the supplementary
budget.
The above is the consequence of firm governmental conduct, he
said.
Draskovics added that growth was faster than expected in Hungary,
the GDP expanded by 3 per cent. Industrial production in 1994 rose by 7-8
per cent, and far more companies showed a profit than was expected.
Firms paid 30 per cent more profit tax to the budget at the end of
December than the amount forecast, which is one of the reasons for the
decline in the deficit.
Officials of the Finance Ministry believe that a viable income-
generating company core is coming about in Hungarian economy, which
manufactures competitive products and markets most of these abroad.
However, alongside the favourable signs, there still remain
numerous alarming facts in economy.
Greater than expected disorders in balance came about last year.
While exports rose by 15 per cent in 1994, the rise in imports was even
higher, standing at 20 per cent. Thus the deficit in the balance of payments
will be considerably higher than planned, nearly USD 4 billion.
37m Foreigners Visit Hungary by End of November 1994
Budapest, January 11 (MTI-ECONEWS) - In all, 4.7m guests stayed in
commercial accommodation in the first 11 months of 1994, with the number
of foreign guests totalling 2.7m in the same period, the Central Statistical
Office (CSO) reports.
By the end of November, 37m foreigners visited Hungary, 1.2pc down
on the same period of the previous year. The number of tourists totalled
20m, 7pc down on the same period of the previous year. However, the
number of actual visitors grew by 14pc to 12m. In the January-November
period, tourists spent 130m nights in Hungary - a 3.4pc decrease on the
same period of the previous year.
Turnover in use of high quality accommodation, hotels, and bed and
breakfasts showed an increase in the January-November period of 1994,
while the number of nights foreign tourists spent in other types of
accommodation decreased. The occupancy rate of hotels was 45pc in
November - the average occupancy rate registered in the January-
November period was 47pc.
Of tourists, those arriving from Japan and countries within the CIS
increased in the January-November period, while Hungarian tourists
crossed the borders 13m times in the first eleven months of 1994 - 18pc up
on the same period of the previous year. The increase was mainly due to
the 3m tourists crossing Hungary from Serbia, where the number of
tourists in the January-November period was five times higher than in the
same period of the previous year.
National Bank of Hungary (NBH) figures show the tourism surplus
was USD 400m at the end of September, with revenue up by 16pc.
Prime Minister Meets Budapest Mayor
Budapest, January 11 (MTI) - Prime Minister Gyula Horn and
Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky discussed today, at Demszky's proposal,
the coalition agreement reached by the Budapest groups of the Hungarian
Socialist Party (HSP) and the Alliance of Free Democrats (AFD). Both Horn
and Demszky expect the pact to create the conditions ensuring stable
cooperation.
Journalists were briefed on the discussion by Demszky, who made
his first visit to the prime minister since being re-elected on December 11.
At the meeting, the mayor said that the energy price rise was likely to
cause difficulties in running Budapest institutions, while major social
problems were also imminent.
The government will give HUF 10.7 billion (1 USD equals 111 HUF) to
help the completion of projects underway in the capital - the Lagymanyos
bridge and the adjoining road system, as well as public works, including
the water-purifying plant on Csepel Island - by the end of 1996. However,
work should already begin on the 1997-1998 plans, such as the financing of
construction of the underground, Demszky said.
OSCE Chairman-in-Office on Gyarmati's Moscow Mission
Budapest, January 11 (MTI) - "It is a promising sign that the positions
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the
Russian government coincide on important issues. One of these states that
the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian Federation must not
be called into question. Yet, at the same time, human rights violations
cannot be considered the internal affair of any country," Hungarian Foreign
Minister and OSCE Chairman-in-Office Laszlo Kovacs told MTI today in
connection with the successful mission of Ambassador Istvan Gyarmati.
As the personal envoy of the OSCE chairman-in-office, Gyarmati held
talks in Moscow on Tuesday on ways the European forum could participate
in resolving the Chechen crisis.
* * *
Budapest, January 11 (MTI) - It is a promising sign that the positions
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the
Russian government coincide on important issues. One of these states that
the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Russian Federation must not
be called into question. Yet, at the same time, human rights violations
cannot be considered the internal affair of any country.
As was reported previously, Hungarian Foreign Minister and OSCE
Chairman-in-Office Laszlo Kovacs told MTI this today in connection with the
successful mission of Ambassador Istvan Gyarmati. As the personal envoy
of the OSCE chairman-in-office, the diplomat held talks in Moscow on
Tuesday on ways the European forum could participate in resolving the
Chechen crisis.
In a related statement to MTI, Kovacs stressed this was the first time
that a great power showed readiness to cooperate with the OSCE in settling
a crisis, which is regarded as an internal affair under the terms of
international law. The OSCE and Moscow also agree that settlement of the
Chechen conflict is a common interest and that it should be carried out
through political negotiations in conformity with the constitution of the
Russian Federation and the basic principles of the OSCE.
Kovacs also deemed important the agreements reached on a number
of other major moves at talks between Gyarmati and Russian leaders,
among them Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev. Accordingly, Russia is ready
to receive representatives of the OSCE chairman-in-office, allow them to
visit the site of conflict in Chechnya and work out, together with competent
Russian officials, a programme on further cooperation between Moscow
and the OSCE in resolving the crisis. The OSCE would participate in
forwarding humanitarian aid consignments to Chechnya, in restoring law
and order, redressing human rights violations and, for the longer term, in
preparations for the elections there.
* * *
Budapest, January 11 (MTI) - The foreign minister also briefed MTI on
his Wednesday telephone conversation with Kozyrev. He said he had
voiced his satisfaction with all agreements reached by Gyarmati in Moscow
and expressed his appreciation for the openness and readiness for
cooperation exhibited by the Russian government. Kozyrev assured the
OSCE of Russia's continued support.
Kovacs also spoke today by telephone with French Foreign Minister
Alain Juppe, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the European
Union. Kovacs informed his French partner of the results of Gyarmati's
Moscow talks and the proposals he is to present to the session of the
OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday. In addition, Kovacs
thanked the foreign minister for the firm support given by France, as well
as by Juppe himself, in promoting cooperation between the OSCE and the
Russian government in an effort at settling the Chechen crisis.
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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.
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OMRI DAILY DIGEST
Vol. 1, No. 10, 13 January 1995
SLOVAK OPPOSITION APPEALS TO CONSTITUTIONAL
COURT. Opposition deputies from the Christian Democratic
Movement, the Democratic Union, the Party of the
Democratic Left, the Social Democratic Party, and the
three ethnic Hungarian parties submitted a proposal on 12
January to the Constitutional Court asking it to review
two laws recently passed by the parliament. One law is an
amendment to the large-scale privatization legislation
transferring control over privatization from the
government to the National Property Fund; the other
cancels all direct-sale privatization projects carried
out by the Moravcik government after 6 September. The two
laws were passed by the parliament on 4 November, vetoed
by the president, and then reapproved by the legislature
on 21 December. -- Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.
HUNGARIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES VISIT SLOVAKIA.
Delegations from three Hungarian opposition parties--the
Hungarian Democratic Forum, the Christian Democratic
Peoples' Party, and the Alliance of Young Democrats--
arrived in Slovakia on 12 January for a two-day visit.
Invited by the chairmen of the three ethnic Hungarian
parties in Slovakia, the Hungarian politicians are
seeking to strengthen ties with ethnic Hungarians in
Slovakia and contribute to the development of "good-
neighborly relations," HDF Chairman Lajos Fur said. The
delegation is expected to meet with Slovak Premier
Vladimir Meciar and the chairmen of the Christian
Democratic Movement and Democratic Union, Sme reports. --
Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.
HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT CANCELS PRIVATIZATION DEAL.
The Hungarian government on 12 January canceled a major
hotel privatization deal and fired privatization chief
Ferenc Bartha, MTI reports. The government accused the
State Property Agency, headed by Bartha, of "professional
lapses" and ignoring "the interests of the national
economy." The State Property Agency agreed to sell 51% of
the shares of 14 Hungarian hotels to the American General
Hospitality for $57.5 million. But Prime Minister Gyula
Horn stopped the transaction because he considered the
price too low. The cancellation of the deal and the
dismissal of Bartha is likely to exacerbate growing
tensions between Horn's Hungarian Socialist Party and its
coalition partner, the Alliance of Free Democrats, which
was opposed to both moves. The Financial Times on 13
January reports that the index of the Budpaest stock
exchange fell 66 points, the biggest daily drop for
nearly a year, in anticipation that the government would
cancel the sale. -- Edith Oltay, OMRI, Inc.
ROMANIA DENIES INTENTION TO COMPENSATE HUNGARY.
The Romanian Environment Ministry on 12 January denied
that Romania plans to compensate Hungary for damage
caused when oil spilled into the Hungarian part of the
Barcau River at the end of December, Radio Bucharest
reported the same day. The ministry issued a statement
denying a report by Radio Budapest maintaining that
Romania had agreed to pay compensation (see OMRI Daily
Digest, 11 January). The statement says Romania's
environmental protection agreement with Hungary does not
require compensation for such damage. It notes that
Romania has fulfilled all its obligations under the
agreement and eliminated the effects of the spill. --
Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Jan Cleave
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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.
[*] [*] [*] [*] [*][*] [*][*][*]
[*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*]
[*][*][*] [*][*][*] [*][*] [*][*]
[*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*]
[*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*] [*]
Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
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