OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 131, 7 July 1995

CENTRAL PLANNING OFFICE ON POLISH ECONOMY. The Polish Central Planning
Office on 6 July issued a report comparing Poland's economy in 1994 with
those of other East European countries. Polish and Slovenian growth
rates were the biggest in the region, reaching 5%. Poland is expected to
occupy first place with Estonia in 1995, with 6%. Polish exports rose
22% in 1994; but Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania registered bigger
growths. Inflation in Poland in 1994 was 32.2%, compared with 10.2% in
the Czech Republic and 320% in Russia. With regard to unemployment,
Poland placed seventh in Europe as a whole (with Macedonia, the rump
Yugoslavia, and Spain topping the list). Poland was the only country in
the region whose foreign debt decreased, but it has the region's second
largest such debt in relation to GNP (42%), after Hungary (72%).
Poland's budget deficit amounted to 2.7% of GNP in 1994, compared with
10.4% in Hungary and 9.3% in Russia, Polish media reported on 7 July. --
Jakub Karpinski, OMRI, Inc.

ROMANIAN, HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET? Radio Bucharest on 6
July, citing Radio Budapest, said Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo
Kovacs has proposed meeting with his Romanian counterpart, Teodor
Melescanu, to discuss the bilateral basic treaty. The possibility of
talks between the two ministers was also discussed by President Ion
Iliescu and Prime Minister Gyula Horn at their meeting in Cannes. But
Kovacs said he had doubts about how successful such an encounter would
be. In a related development, Adevarul on 7 July reported that the
Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania (UDMR) has decided to begin
"civic disobedience" actions if its demands for changing the recently-
passed education law are not met by President Ion Iliescu. UDMR leaders
and Iliescu are scheduled to meet on 8 July. -- Michael Shafir, OMRI,
Inc.

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave

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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.

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Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
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Friday, 7 July 1995
Volume 2, Issue 131

REGIONAL NEWS
-------------

**HUNGARY MAY INTRODUCE VISAS FOR CIS AND BALKAN COUNTRIES**
  Hungary is considering imposing a visa requirement on visitors
  from Balkan and ex-Soviet states.  Prime Minister Gyula Horn
  said Thursday that visas would  reduce illegal immigration and
  unlawful employment which he said are becoming chronic in some
  parts of the country.   Horn says citizens of countries south
  and east of Hungary would be affected.


**ROMANIAN AND HUNGARIAN FMS TO MEET OVER BASIC TREATY**
  The Hungarian foreign ministry says Foreign Minister Laszlo
  Kovacs will meet his Romanian counterpart, Teodor Melescanu,
  during the second half of this month in an attempt to reach an
  agreement on a bilateral treaty between their countries.
  Romanian and Hungarian officials have been holding sporadic
  high-level talks  for months to try to unblock an impasse over
  provisions on minority rights. Slightly more than one and a
  half million ethnic Hungarians live in Romania. Speaking in
  Brussels Thursday, Romania's ambassador to the EU,
  Constantin Ene, said a solution to the question of the
  Hungarian minority in Romania will take time and "a change of
  mentality". Ene was in Brussels asking the EU for an increase
  in Bucharest's share  of funding from the PHARE development
  program from between 14 and 15 percent to 18 percent.  Ene says
  his country has not received its full entitlement because it
  began its reform program later than the other former communist
  countries wanting EU membership.



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*****************************************************************
A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.

           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*][*]    [*][*][*]
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]  [*]  [*]
           [*][*][*]  [*][*][*]  [*][*]    [*][*] 
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]  [*]  [*]    
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]   [*] [*]

Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
*****************************************************************