OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 56, 20 March 1997

HUNGARIAN PREMIER ON EU, NATO. Gyula Horn on 19 March said that
enlargement of the EU and NATO is impossible without Hungary's
participation, international media reported. He said a nationwide
referendum on joining NATO should be held in the first half of 1999,
after the general elections next year. Horn also called for a "treaty-
based relationship" between NATO and Russia and "special partnership
ties" between NATO and nations that will not be invited to join in the
first round. On other matters, Horn noted that while Hungary's bilateral
relations with Romania have markedly improved, those with Slovakia are
stagnating. Horn referred to Slovakia's domestic political problems and
the ongoing trial over a hydroelectric dam on the Danube at the
International Court of Justice in The Hague. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Susan Caskie