OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 41, 27 February 1997

BULGARIAN PRESIDENT IN POLAND. Petar Stoyanov arrived in Poland on 26
February on the first leg of his tour of East Central European
countries. Addressing the Polish parliamentarians, he noted that in
addition to seeking NATO membership, Bulgaria wants to join the Central
European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA). But Bulgaria's debt of more than
$100 million to Poland is an obstacle. Spokesman Antoni Styrczula said
that President Aleksander Kwasniewski is considering allowing Bulgaria
to settle the debt after joining CEFTA. Stoyanov is also due to visit
the Czech Republic and Hungary over the next few days. -- Jakub
Karpinski

GERMAN PRESIDENT IN HUNGARY. Meeting with representatives of the 200,000
ethnic Germans living in Hungary, Roman Herzog on 26 February praised
that country for its "exemplary" minority policy, Hungarian media
reported. The previous day, the German president had reassured the
Hungarian parliament that Germany supports Hungary's bid for EU and NATO
integration. He warned, however, that aspiring member countries will
have to bear most of the integration costs. He also called for a
European partnership with Russia and Ukraine in order to maintain peace
in Europe. Herzog also spoke with Jewish Holocaust survivors who were
protesting Germany's delay in making compensation payments. He said an
agreement with Hungary on the issue would be signed "within a very short
period." -- Zsolt Mato

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave