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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 22, 3 February 1998

POLISH ECONOMY CONTINUES TO GROW. The government has announced that the economy
 grew 7 percent in 1997, up from 6.1 percent the previous year, AFP reported on
 31 January. The country received $6.6 billion in investment last year, the hig
hest yearly amount for any Eastern European country since the fall of communism
. Foreign investment since 1989 now totals $20.6 billion, meaning that Poland h
as overtaken Hungary as the country in the region with the largest foreign inve
stment. The U.S. is the largest foreign investor in Poland ($4 billion), ahead 
of Germany ($2.1 billion). PB

SLOVAKIA'S HUNGARIANS SUPPORT MINORITY REPRESENTATION IN HUNGARY. Leaders
of the three political parties representing Slovakia's Hungarian minority
have urged politicians in Budapest to facilitate the  representation of
minorities in the Hungarian parliament as soon as possible, Hungarian media
reported on 2 February. The ethnic Hungarian leaders told Csaba Tabajdi,
political state secretary at the Prime Minister's Office, that Hungary's
legislature must provide for the parliamentary representation of minorities
since they are unable to win such representation through the regular
electoral process owing to their small size.  Of the former communist
countries, only Romania has a constitution that provides for minority
representation in the parliament. MSZ

SLOVENIA SAYS NO POLITICAL STATUS FOR GERMAN MINORITY. Prime Minister Janez
Drnovsek said in Ljubljana on 30 January that Slovenia's 765 native-German
speakers will not be recognized in the constitution as a distinct ethnic
minority. He had earlier met with Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang
Schuessel. Drnovsek noted that he and Schuessel agreed that the status of
the German speakers "is a cultural question" and that "Austria does not
expect us to change our constitution." He said they agreed that the
German-speakers in Slovenia are not a homogenous group, but scattered. The cons
titution recognizes an Italian and a Hungarian minority, each of which is guara
nteed one seat in parliament. The status of the German-speakers has been a thor
ny issue in relations between Ljubljana and Vienna. PM

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 23, 4 February 1998

NO AGREEMENT ON SLOVAK-HUNGARIAN DAM DISPUTE. The two delegations discussing wa
ys of resolving the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydropower dam dispute failed on 2 Febr
uary in Bratislava to reach agreement on issues such as the joint operation of 
Slovakia's Cunovo dam and Hungary's Dunakiliti complex. Hungarian delegation he
ad Janos Nemcsok said after the meeting that "never has there been such a big d
ifference" between the two sides. A joint statement issued after the talks said
 progress was made only on environmental and legal issues. The next round of ta
lks will be held in Budapest on 9 February. MSZ

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                     All rights reserved.
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