RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 64, 2 April 1998

SLOVAK PARLIAMENT PASSES RESOLUTION ON DANUBE
DAM. Slovak deputies on 1 April overwhelmingly approved a
resolution urging Hungary to comply with the International
Court of Justice verdict on the highly controversial Gabcikovo-
Nagymaros dam, TASR reported. The court had called on the
two countries to solve the dispute by 25 March. Bratislava
blamed Budapest for the countries' failure to reach an
agreement, saying it will return the case to the court if an
agreement is not reached by July. Slovakia completed its part
of the dam in 1993, but Hungary pulled out of the agreement--
first signed in 1977--and has refused to complete its portion.
Under the pressure of public opinion, Hungary has reneged on a
recent pledge to finish the dam. PB

CROATIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BUDAPEST. Mate Granic
said in the Hungarian capital on 1 April that Croatia supports
the return of ethnic Hungarians to eastern Slavonia. Granic and
his Hungarian counterpart, Laszlo Kovacs, agreed to jointly
rebuild Hungarian-inhabited villages in that region and to open
more border crossings. The foreign ministers also expressed
support for Hungarian and German involvement in mine
clearance in eastern Croatia to aid the resettlement of the
some 25,000 ethnic Hungarian refugees who fled the region
during the Yugoslav wars, Hungarian media reported. MSZ

VASILE NAMED ROMANIAN PREMIER-DESIGNATE. Romanian
President Emil Constantinescu has officially named Radu
Vasile as prime minister-designate, Reuters reported on 2
April. Vasile was nominated the previous day by the National
Peasant Party Christian Democratic, of which he is secretary
general. Vasile has 10 days to form a government and be
endorsed by the parliament. An economic historian, Vasile said
he is a politician who "does not yield to pressure." He said his
strengths are a "capacity for dialogue, for negotiations in
order to reach a common solution for the benefit of the
country." Constantinescu approved the choice after holding
talks with leaders of the parties expected to make up the
coalition government: National Peasant Party Christian
Democratic, the National Liberal Party, the Social Democratic
Party, and the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania
(see "End Note" below). PB

END NOTE

ROMANIA'S CIORBEA STEPS DOWN

by Breffni O'Rourke and Michael Shafir

	Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ciorbea resigned earlier
this week, leaving the country with its reform process in
tatters and its future uncertain.
	Ciorbea's decision to go ends a lengthy chapter of
political infighting in the ruling coalition. In his resignation
speech, broadcast on national television, Ciorbea spoke of his
place in history, suggesting it will be different from the role
assigned to him by his present detractors. What is his legacy?
	The high hopes with which Ciorbea began his term nearly
18 months ago have not been fulfilled. He takes credit for
setting the country on a reform path after years of
postcommunist governments' inactivity. But reforms faltered
amid bickering and indecision: the national economy shrunk
last year by 6 per cent of GDP, living standards continued to
plummet, and privatization ground to a halt.
	Ciorbea's most lasting contribution might well be his
attempt to achieve the integration of Romania's Hungarian
minority. His tenure was marked by a desire to grant ethnic
Hungarians the basic rights that had long been withheld from
them. It will be a delicate task for an incoming prime minister
to continue that process as well as economic reform. Moreover,
the omens are not all good.
	President Emil Constantinescu has named Radu Vasile,
secretary-general of the National Peasant Party Christian
Democratic (PNTCD), as prime minister-designate with a
mandate to assemble a new coalition government by the end of
this month. The four parties of the original coalition--National
Peasant Party Christian Democratic, the National Liberal
Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania--are expected to form the
new government.
	Romania currently faces many urgent economic tasks. A
London-based analyst with the Chase Manhattan Bank, Michael
Marrese, says the economy is at a standstill. Restarting the
privatization program and getting the state budget through the
parliament will be among the priorities of the new
government.
	Marrese notes that the IMF has not released the third of
five tranches of its standby loan to Romania. He says
Bucharest will have a last chance to persuade a visiting IMF
mission next month by presenting a program that includes
downsizing and restructuring state monopolies. He says that
task will require political willpower because of the labor
opposition it is sure to cause.
	Developments in Romania over the past few months show
the extent of the rifts between parties in Romania's pro-
reform and pro-democracy movement. They are also
reminiscent of developments in Bulgaria in 1991-1992, when
the failure of a democratic coalition led to the return of
former Communists. That relapse froze Bulgaria's recovery
process, so that only now and with great difficulty is Bulgaria
gaining reform momentum.

Breffni O'Rourke is an RFE/RL senior correspondent.

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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 65, 3 April 1998

PETITION DRIVE GATHERS MOMENTUM IN SLOVAKIA. More than
100,000 people have so far signed a petition calling for the
direct election of the president, RFE/RL's Slovak Service
reported on 2 April. Organizers of the petition drive, which
was launched last week and is sponsored by the opposition
blocs Slovak Democratic Coalition and Hungarian Coalition,
are seeking to collect 500,000 signatures. Prime Minister
Vladimir Meciar said on 2 April that neither he nor
parliamentary chairman Ivan Gasparovic will stand as
presidential candidates because they want to concentrate on
campaigning for the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. PB

HUNGARIAN CABINET WILL NOT DISPUTE RULING ON DAM REFERENDUM.
Government spokesman Elemer Kiss told journalists on 3 April
that the cabinet will not appeal to the Constitutional Court
over the 1 April ruling by the National Election Committee
that a referendum will be held on building the Gabcikovo-
Nagymaros dam if 200,000 signatures are collected. Kiss
said, however, that the cabinet disagrees with the timing of
such a vote, saying it should have been held in 1993, before
Hungary and Slovakia agreed to settle the conflict at the
International Court of Justice in The Hague. The Together
for Hungary Union launched the initiative for a referendum
on the controversial dam. MZS

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