RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 244, 21 December 1998

ORBAN ON RELATIONS WITH NEIGHBORS. Hungarian Prime
Minister Viktor Orban on 18 December said Hungary's
relations with Austria and Slovenia are "excellent,"
ties with Romania are "viable," and cooperation with
Slovakia "holds out historical prospects" as a result of
the recent elections in that country. He was speaking on
Minorities' Day, while presenting awards to persons and
institutions representing ethnic minorities. Orban also
said the cabinet views ethnic Hungarians living outside
Hungary "not as a problem, but as a chance for creating
stability in the region." And he noted that Budapest's
goal is to see its neighbors admitted to the EU as soon
as possible, Hungarian media reported. Also on 18
December, Slovak Deputy Premier Pavol Hamzik told
Minister without Portfolio Imre Boros in Budapest that
ethnic Hungarian students will receive bilingual school
reports this semester. And during a visit to Vojvodina,
Agriculture Minister Jozef Torgyan said he is
"personally dissatisfied" with the conditions of ethnic
Hungarians in the region. MS

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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
________________________________________________________
RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 245, 22 December
1998

MECIAR'S PARTY HAS MORE MAYORAL POSTS THAN IN 1994.
Following the 18-19 December local elections, the
opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) has
30 percent more mayoral posts than in 1994, according to
preliminary results, CTK reported. The HZDS heads 602
local councils, compared with 446 four years ago. But it
did not win a mayoralty in the country's eight largest
cities. Independent candidates head 816 local councils,
16 more than in 1994. Of the coalition parties, the
Party of the Democratic Left heads 401 local councils
(502 in 1994) and the Christian Democratic Party, which
is a member of the Slovak Democratic Coalition, 220 (415
in 1994). The Hungarian Coalition Party won in 224 towns
and villages. The Democratic Union and the Democratic
Party have 29 and 28 mayors, respectively. The
opposition Slovak National Party will head 114 councils
(58 in 1994). Turnout was 53.9 percent. MS

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                     All rights reserved.
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