Sunday, 1 May Thursady, 28 April Wednesday, 27 April Tuesday, 26 April Monday, 25 April

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1 Slovak news compiled from wire services, U.S. press, RFE/RL, and other sources University of Pittsburgh, PA Slovak Studies Program, 1417 CL MARTIN VOTRUBA S L O V A K N E W S Monday Sunday, 29 April 1 May 1994 Sunday, 1 May Slovak and Hungarian Prime Ministers Meet 2 Visegrád Countries to Speed Up Removal of Customs Barriers 2 Thursady, 28 April Premier Moravčík Comments on Slovak-Hungarian Relations 2 EU Dislikes Dealing with Central European Countries Individually 3 Wednesday, 27 April New Slovak Government Hopes to Increase Low Foreing Investment 4 Czechs Slam Slovakia s Requirement of Health Certificates for Food 5 Premier Moravčík Won t Attend Liberals Meeting in Hungary 6 Gabčíkovo Danube Gate Reopens for Shipping 6 Foreign Minister Kukan in Spain 6 Tuesday, 26 April Hungarian Premier May Still Meet Slovak Counterpart 7 Slovak Economic Officials in Washington 7 Slovakia Registers Trade Deficit 8 Slovak Central Bank Seeks Crown Stability, Expects Economy to Shrink 8 Foreign Media Seek a Stake in Slovakia s New Private TV 9 Eva Mitrová Named New Slovak Ambassador to Hungary 9 Monday, 25 April Slovaks Split on Mečiar s Removal 9

2 29 April 1 May 1994, Slovak News 2 Sunday, 1 May 1994 SLOVAK AND HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTERS MEET Komárno/Komárom On 1 May, the Slovak and Hungarian prime ministers, Jozef Moravčík and Péter Boross held an unofficial meeting in Komárno and Komárom, MTI reported. The two leaders discussed controversial bilateral issues, such as the Hungarian minority in Slovakia, the Gabčíkovo dam and the establishing of new border crossings. At a news conference following the meeting, the two prime ministers announced that they will set up a joint committee which will identify existing bilateral problems between Slovakia and Hungary and set deadlines for dealing with them. Both parties described the meeting as a positive step. VISEGRÁD COUNTRIES TO SPEED UP REMOVAL OF CUSTOMS BARRIERS Budapest The trade ministers of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic announced that their countries will speed up the process of removing customs barriers among them, MTI reported. According to a protocol signed on 29 April in Budapest, lower tariffs will go into effect on 1 July, regardless of when the four parliaments will ratify the agreement. Hungary will see its agricultural export tariffs to Poland reduced by 50% and its export quotas expanded. According to the protocol, preferential trade tariffs between the four countries will be achieved by 1998, rather than 2001 as initially planned. Thursday, 28 April 1994 PREMIER MORAVČÍK COMMENTS ON SLOVAK-HUNGARIAN RELATIONS Bratislava Slovak Prime Minister Jozef Moravčík said that Slovakia and Hungary must resolve their disputes over border and minority issues to ensure future membership in the European Union, Reuters reported on Thursday, 28 April. Moravčík said on Wednesday night (27 April) that a Slovak-Hungarian border treaty was important for stability in Central Europe and would increase the credibility of the two countries as they pursue EU membership. Hungary formally applied for full EU membership last month and Slovakia intends to follow suit later this year after its associate EU membership has been ratified. Slovakia and Hungary have argued over the status of minorities in their respective countries as well as over other issues, including the controversial Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros dam for several years.

3 29 April 1 May 1994, Slovak News 3 EU DISLIKES DEALING WITH CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES INDIVIDUALLY Prague 4/28/94 European Union Foreign Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek is in the Czech Republic for wide-ranging talks to promote the idea of a united Europe, including the former communist countries. Commissioner van den Broek is meeting here with the European Union envoys of all six Central European countries that have signed association agreements with the EU. Besides the Czech Republic, they are Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Romania. Also participating are the ambassadors to Slovenia and Albania. The Commissioner opened his two-day visit on Thursday with roundtable discussions with leading Czech politicians and journalists. The debate made it clear that some progress though little has been made on how full European Union can be achieved. Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Pavel Bratinka noted that the associate members lack genuine political dialogue with the EU. And this limits any role they might play in shaping the EU s future, when they hope to become full members. Mr. van den Broek says the EU, for its part, regrets the reluctance of East and Central European countries to act together on foreign policy matters. The EU, he says, has proposed to the Visegrád group comprised of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia and other East European countries to appoint a single representative to work with the community, such as making joint representations to non- European countries. But, Mr. van den Broek notes, none of the Central and East European countries are willing to have another speak on their behalf. Mr. van den Broek expects the European Union s enlargement to continue after the admission of Austria, Finland, and Sweden, expected to be approved by the European Parliament next week. But no admissions are expected before a 1996 inter-governmental conference that will debate the EU s institutional reform. Mr. van den Broek declined to say whether the Czech Republic can hope for membership before the end of the century, as Czech Prime Minister Václav Klaus has urged. Improved trade with the EU countries is a key Czech concern. President Václav Havel made that clear when he accused the EU of protectionism against East European exports. He made it in the first issue of the newly-launched magazine, Europa, which is the Czech-language version of a bi-monthly published by the EU in Brussels. The periodical

4 29 April 1 May 1994, Slovak News 4 is being introduced simultaneously in Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The magazine is to be a platform for dialogue between the European union and its prospective members. Deputy minister Bratinka says that more discussion is needed in the Czech Republic to make people fully understand what EU membership could mean and what the advantages would be. Mr. van den Broek will also hold talks with Czech Foreign minister Josef Zieleniec and Prime Minister Václav Klaus. On Friday, the Commissioner is to attend a reception on Europe Week, which is to be attended by President Havel. (VOA) Wednesday, 27 April 1994 NEW SLOVAK GOVERNMENT HOPES TO INCREASE LOW FOREIGN INVESTMENT Bratislava Slovak Prime Minister Jozef Moravčík sees political stability and a new push to speed up the country s economic transformation as top priorities of his caretaker government. Slovakia s long-term stability depends on creating stable political party structures and I think we are doing that, he said in a Wednesday evening interview with Reuters. We are painstakingly trying to implement measures to speed up our economic transformation, he said, referring to a new push to revitalize the privatization of state companies which had come to a virtual halt under former Prime Minister Vladimír Mečiar. Mečiar was ousted in a parliamentary vote of no-confidence in March after a series of top-level resignations, dismissals and public policy disputes which shook Slovakia almost from the day it emerged as an independent state in January The government of Moravčík, who served as foreign minister in the Mečiar administration, is a broad-based coalition originally formed of five parties which joined forces against Mečiar s Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). Moravčík last week formed a new party, the Democratic Union of Slovakia (DEÚS), by combining two of the five original coalition partners. The government faces early elections next September. By establishing DEÚS, we intend to bring a new party stability, and to create a strong, economic environment, completely compatible with other western countries, he said. We see the party as having a liberal orientation, which will cooperate with other liberal parties in Europe.

5 29 April 1 May 1994, Slovak News 5 DEÚS has 18 seats in Slovakia s 150-seat Parliament, making it the third-largest party. The combined coalition holds 70 seats. HZDS has 54. Moravčík said he was confident his coalition would win next September s elections because it had rapidly won public confidence since taking over. He cited a public opinion poll this month which gave the government a 54 percent approval rating, compared with the 32% the Mečiar administration enjoyed just before it was ousted. Moravčík said one of the government s prime aims was attracting foreign capital, which has been in short supply since Slovakia emerged from the breakup of the Czech and Slovak Federation. Solving this is especially important right now, because we lack our own domestic capital, he said. So far, direct foreign capital has amounted to about $340 million since the fall of Communism in 1989, and the country s hard currency reserves stood at $536 million in mid-april. Foreign diplomats and analysts say one of the main reasons for sluggish foreign investment accounting for a fraction of the funds which have flowed into the Czech Republic has been a widely-held perception of political instability. The Mečiar government had also faced public charges of cronyism and corrupt practices in turning formerly state-owned property into private entities. A few days after he took office, the new privatization minister, Milan Janičina, said the new government was probing suspicions of illegal dealings in a spate of privatization projects under Mečiar. At the same time, Janičina said the government was planning to sharply increase the share of voucher privatization in the planned sell-off of state-owned properties worth almost $6 billion. (Reuters) CZECHS SLAM SLOVAKIA S REQUIREMENT OF HEALTH CERTIFICATES FOR FOOD Bratislava Starting on 1 May, Slovak customs officers will require all producers of agricultural and food products exported to Slovakia to show certificates assuring that safety and health requirements have been met, TASR reports on 27 April. Ľubomír Šutek, Chairman of Slovakia s Office for Normalization, Metrology, and Testing, said that requirement of certificates does not violate any GATT rules, nor does it jeopardize the customs union with the Czech Republic. Czech Premier Václav Klaus expressed his disappointment with the requirement, saying that the certificates will not only affect Czech exporters but also Slovak consumers, who will have to deal with higher prices.

6 29 April 1 May 1994, Slovak News 6 PREMIER MORAVČÍK WON T ATTEND LIBERALS MEETING IN HUNGARY On 27 April the press department of the Slovak cabinet said that Premier Jozef Moravčík will not attend the conference organized by Hungarian liberals on 30 April in Visegrád, Hungary, because of previous commitments, TASR reports. Hungarian Premier Péter Boross had hoped to meet with Moravčík on that day as well. GABČÍKOVO DANUBE GATE REOPENS FOR SHIPPING Bratislava Slovakia s Gabčíkovo dam, closed for over a month after a shipping accident wrecked one of its gates, resumed operations on Wednesday morning, Slovak officials said. Based on the results of testing yesterday, we decided to open traffic through the right lock beginning today at eight in the morning, said Karol Anda, director of the Slovak Water Transport Authority. Dam officials said earlier that about 26 convoys had queued up to pass through the dam, and that an unspecified number were waiting to leave other ports on the river Danube. The Gabčíkovo dam is on the Danube about 50 km (30 miles) southwest of the Slovak capital Bratislava. A Ukrainian tugboat crashed into its right-hand lock on February 11. Attempts to recover the boat, which later sank, resulted in an excessive build-up of water pressure, damaging the dam s other lock. It had been completely blocked since 20 March, despite round-theclock efforts to free it. An official at the dam s control tower said that all the shipping should get through the reopened lock within three days and that the left lock should be opened within two months. Total damage to the dam is estimated at 250 million crowns ($7.6 million). (Reuters) FOREIGN MINISTER KUKAN IN SPAIN Madrid Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan began an official visit to Spain on 27 April, meeting with Spanish Premier Felipe Gonzales, King Juan Carlos I and Foreign Minister Javier Solan. Discussions focused on the transition to democracy and a market economy, as well as on integration into West European political, economic and security structures.

7 29 April 1 May 1994, Slovak News 7 Tuesday, 26 April 1994 HUNGARIAN PREMIER MAY STILL MEET SLOVAK COUNTERPART Budapest According to Hungarian foreign ministry spokesman János Herman, Prime Minister Péter Boross was ready to meet Slovak Premier Jozef Moravčík, possibly on 30 May when the latter is scheduled to take part in a conference in Visegrád, Hungary, organized by Hungary s two liberal opposition parties, MTI reported on 26 April. Although Moravčík has repeatedly sought a meeting with Boross, the latter declined last week because of a Slovak expectation of a joint declaration after the meeting in which Hungary would declare in principle the inviolability of the two countries borders. Hungarian Socialist Party Chairman Gyula Horn and Gábor Kuncze, the Alliance of Free Democrats prime minister-designate, recently visited Bratislava for talks with Moravčík and were criticized by Boross and Foreign Minister Géza Jeszenszky for undermining Hungary s efforts to sign a mutually acceptable basic treaty with Slovakia that would include both a border and a minority rights clause. In an interview with TASR on 26 April, Moravčík said he will probably not visit Hungary this weekend because he has other matters to attend to. He did say, however, that a meeting with Boross might still take place. He did not want to comment on Boross s statement that Horn influenced him to delay his trip. SLOVAK ECONOMIC OFFICIALS IN WASHINGTON Washington Deputy Premier for economic issues Brigita Schmögnerová addressed the IMF on 26 April, calling for more cooperation between the IMF and countries in transition. In negotiations with IMF officials, Schmögnerová said that taxes on some goods would likely be raised to ensure that the budget deficit does not exceed 4% of GDP in Meeting with U.S. Treasury Department officials on 26 April, Finance Minister Rudolf Filkus said that thus far the budget results have been positive; the present deficit is only 4 billion crowns (the state budget sets the deficit at 14 billion crowns for 1994), and the inflation rate was 0.5% in March. An IMF mission is expected to visit Slovakia in May to decide whether the country will qualify for a stand-by loan.

8 29 April 1 May 1994, Slovak News 8 SLOVAKIA REGISTERS TRADE DEFICIT Bratislava According to figures released by the Slovak Statistical Office and reported by TASR on 26 April, Slovakia s foreign trade deficit in the first two months of 1994 reached 3.95 billion crowns. Imports rose 52.8% from the same period of 1993, to a total of billion crowns, while exports increased 27.1% to billion crowns. The Czech Republic remained Slovakia s biggest trading partner, representing 37.6% of Slovak exports and 30.4% of Slovak imports in January and February. Germany and Russia were also important trading partners. SLOVAK CENTRAL BANK SEEKS CROWN STABILITY, EXPECTS ECONOMY TO SHRINK Vienna Stabilizing the Slovak crown is the top priority of the National Bank this year, but the job is being made difficult by twin budget and payments deficits as well as lingering recession, a National Bank economist said. We want to secure the exchange rate this year after last year securing internal convertibility, economist Elena Kohútiková told a briefing here on Tuesday. Kohútiková said the bank s monetary policy targets assumed the economy would shrink by up to two percent this year, or at best stagnate, after shrinking by 4.1% in Inflation is targeted at 10%-13% this year, around half last year s level, while the Central Bank wants to see the budget deficit reined in to billion crowns ($475-$577 million). The 1993 budget deficit was revised up to 30 billion crowns ($1.02 billion) after Vladimír Mečiar s government was toppled last month by a no confidence vote. Slovakia is being run by a five-party caretaker government until elections due in September. Kohútiková said the Central Bank managed to defend the internal convertibility of the crown in its first year, but only at the cost of a rundown in foreign exchange reserves and a 10% devaluation last July. It received financial help from the IMF and World Bank, as well as replenishing reserves through a $240 million privately placed bond late last year. Talks on unlocking further financial help from the IMF and World Bank are blocked by the budget deficit. Finance Minister Rudolf Filkus has said he would be unable to stick to pledges given by the Mečiar government after the deficit last month had already topped seven billion crowns ($238 million). Kohútiková called on the government to step up the mass privatization program that stalled under Mečiar and ensure that a $3.4 billion coupon sell-off scheme takes place by September. That could unlock the transitional financial support from the IMF and World Bank needed to replenish reserves and keep the crown on an even keel. (Reuters)

9 29 April 1 May 1994, Slovak News 9 FOREIGN MEDIA SEEK A STAKE IN SLOVAKIA S NEW PRIVATE TV Bratislava Reuters, the international news and information group, may take up to 15% in a Slovak-led joint stock company which is vying for Slovakia s first nationwide private television license, company officials said on Tuesday. Officials of ESPE, the Slovak film production company which applied for the license, told a news conference that Reuters and French broadcasting conglomerate Sofirad wanted stakes of up to 15% each in a joint stock company, Altev. Altev would control the channel if ESPE were awarded the license. The Slovak Radio and Television Council on 20 April recommended that Parliament grant ESPE a 12-year license for broadcasting 12 hours a day on STV2, one of the current Slovak state channels. Parliament is scheduled to vote on ESPE s plan in May. Martin Bauer, Reuters business manager for Slovakia and the Czech Republic, said Reuters was still negotiating the extent of its participation in the project. ESPE officials have said that start-up capital would amount to about 800 million crowns ($24 million) and broadcasts could begin by next February. ESPE representative Marian Černák said that apart from Reuters and Sofirad, ESPE expected to take 45% of Altev, with the following Slovak firms: Dunajský televízny kanál, Medium 5, ČTV and Redstone 5. (Reuters) EVA MITROVÁ NAMED NEW SLOVAK AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY Bratislava On 26 April Slovak President Michal Kováč presented Eva Mitrová her credentials as the new Slovak Ambassador to Hungary. Monday, 25 April 1994 SLOVAKS SPLIT ON MEČIAR S REMOVAL Bratislava In an opinion poll released by the Slovak Statistical Office on 25 April, 44% of respondents said they approved of the removal of former Premier Vladimír Mečiar from his post, while 39% of respondents said they did not agree with the move. Another 17% said they did not follow the events. The respondents endorsing Mečiar s removal included 80% of ethnic Hungarians, as well as high percentages of supporters of the parties now represented in the broad coalition government.