RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
________________________________________________________
RFE/RL NEWSLINE 22 February 2000

SLOVAK PRESIDENT OPPOSES GOVERNMENT'S VISA POLICY. President Rudolf
Schuster on 21 February said that the government's "effort" to introduce
visa requirements for citizens of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine was "hasty."
Schuster said he shares the view of Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski
and Hungarian President Arpad Goencz that "no new Iron Curtain" must be
raised between Ukraine and the Western world. He added that it is important
to maintain "good neighborly relations" with Ukraine, and he praised
President Leonid Kuchma's policy of "working together with the EU and
NATO." Schuster also criticized the planned plaque commemorating Jozef Tiso
in Zilina, saying those who cherished their memories of Tiso should visit
the Yad Va'Shem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem to see what the Slovak
"fascist state led by Tiso" achieved. MS

HUNGARIAN PREMIER CRITICIZES HAIDER'S REMARKS ON EU ENLARGEMENT. Prime
Minister Viktor Orban on 21 February criticized Joerg Haider's recent
statement saying that EU enlargement should not take place until wage
levels in candidate countries reach EU levels. The Hungarian government
views Haider's statement as "anti-enlargement," Orban said, adding that
none of the countries seeking entry can reach that level. "An
anti-accession policy would harm Austria, as the country has four neighbors
that want to join the EU," Orban concluded. MSZ

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
               Copyright (c) 1999 RFE/RL, Inc.
                     All rights reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx