OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 136, 14 July 1995
FAR LEFT HUNGARIAN PARTY WANTS REFERENDUM ON NATO MEMBERSHIP. Gyula
Thurmer, leader of Hungary's extraparliamentary Labor Party, said on 13
July that his party will urge a referendum on whether Hungary should
join NATO. He maintained that the people rather than politicians should
decide the issue and that the decision should be made before Hungary and
NATO reach an agreement on admission. "Hungarians are concerned about
this problem and the majority have sufficient information about the
advantages and disadvantages of NATO membership to be able to decide,"
he noted. Thurmer also said he was aware that the government wanted a
referendum on joining NATO when talks on conditions for admission had
been completed, but Thurmer argued that was leaving it too late. -- Jiri
Pehe, OMRI, Inc.
ROMANIAN PRESIDENT ON HUNGARIAN MINORITY DEMANDS, RELATED ISSUES.
Presidential spokesman Traian Chebeleu on 12 July said President Ion
Iliescu "appreciates" the Romanian-ethnic parliamentary parties
unanimous rejection of the "unjustified and exaggerated demands" of the
Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR), Radio Bucharest
reported. With regard to the appeal addressed to Iliescu by Gheorghe
Funar, leader of the Party of Romanian National Unity (PUNR) (see OMRI
Daily Digest, 12 July 1995), Chebeleu said in the future, Iliescu will
"ignore the personal opinions" of the PUNR leader and take into
consideration only the collective views of his party's Standing Bureau.
In a message to graduates of the National Defense College, Iliescu said
the same day that Europe was "still menaced" by the revival of
"ultranationalist, xenophobic, [and] separatist" views that "feed some
revisionist and irredentist-linked autonomous tendencies." -- Michael
Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
ROMANIAN-HUNGARIAN MILITARY HOT LINE? Radio Bucharest on 13 July
reported that Romanian Chief of Staff Col. Gen. Dumitru Cioflina and
Hungarian Minister of Defense Gyorgy Keleti have agreed to set up a hot
line between the countries' defense ministries. The line should begin
functioning this autumn and will be installed with U.S. help. Romanian
TV, however, reported only that "the possibility" of installing such a
link has been discussed. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.
[As of 12:00 CET]
Compiled by Jan Cleave
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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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Friday, 14 July 1995
Volume 2, Issue 136
REGIONAL NEWS
-------------
**NO DICE FOR DAM**
Croatia has scrapped plans to build a dam on a stretch of the
river Sava which borders Hungary. Croatian parliament
environmental committee chairman Goran Grnic said on a visit
to Hungary that his country will find alternative sites.
Granis added that Croatia does not intend to build dams on the
on the border if Hungary is opposed to the project. Hungary
is already locked in a dispute with Slovakia over the
semi-completed Gabcikovo, which Budapest said is harming the
environment.
BUSINESS FEATURE
----------------
**BIG DUTCH BOYS OPEN THE INVESTMENT DIKES TO CENTRAL EUROPE**
By David Fink
While economic rivalry between Germany and the United States in
central Europe has captured the most media attention other
countries have also emerged as major players. In fact, on a
per capita basis, the Netherlands is just about the top
investor. David Fink takes a look at Holland's quiet success.
Central European economies have always been closely tied to
Germany. Indeed, the region has often been viewed as
Germany's back yard. But that reputation has never stopped
the enterprising Dutch from doing business here. Take
Unilever: the Dutch conglomerate has sold products in Poland
since the 1920s. In recent years, Unilever invested $150
million in Poland to begin production of margarine and
detergent. Tjalling Tiemstra is the chairman of Unilever in
Poland.
"It will take a long time but we believe that longer term Poland
must develop into a good market. It will take a long time
before say the wealth of the people is at a level that really
is attractive from an investment point of view. But longer
term we think we've done the right thing."
Unilever isn't alone. According to the Dutch government,
companies from Holland invested a total of $1.3 billion in the
Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary through 1993. Firms like
Shell, I.N.G Bank, Philips, Heineken, ABN Anbro, and
Nationale Neederland have led the way, making Holland the
seventh biggest investor in central Europe. Mike Muegge is
head of research for Central Europe Trust, a London based
investment firm. He said Dutch investment is focussed on the
food sector where Holland is the European Union's market
leader. But the government is worried about the long term
competitiveness of Dutch firms.
"The Dutch government has created incentives to diversify
production into the Central and easten European region. This
is mainly low production cost driven. The Dutch can provide
the technology and know how to produce the food. While the
country, Poland for example can provide the cheap labor and
the raw materials.
Muegge said the Netherlands government has provided loans,
financing and export duty reductions to encourage firms to
expand into the region. But Dutch officials said that even
though central Europe is becoming more strategically
important, Holland doesn't have any investment strategy for
the area. Maarten Reuchlin is the Deputy Head of Mission at
the Netherlands Embassy in Budapest. He said the government
plays only an advisory role.
"The business world out there is very definitely like a rat
race. If businessman A doesn't jump in the deep end of the
pool, businessman B will. And its in our interest, that
where the opportunities exits, businessman A is a Dutch man.
And we try to look at those opportunities, find them, and
advise the business community accordingly."
Reuchlin said despite this laissez faire approach, Dutch
investment is pouring in. With limited government help, Dutch
firms have to make it on their own and they've chosen sectors
where growth is likely. Because of that, experts said Dutch
investment in central Europe will accelerate for the
foreseeable future.
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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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