RFE/RL Daily Report
                                      No. 135, 19 July 1994


CENTRAL EUROPEAN SUMMIT. The leaders of the 10-member Central
European Initiative (CEI) adopted in Trieste on 16 July an
economic document calling for the further liberalization of trade
between their countries. The CEI foreign ministers approved a
draft declaration that would become politically binding and would
strengthen the norms for the protection of minority rights.
According to Western news agencies and the 18 July issue of Magyar
Hirlap, the norms in part go beyond those already set by the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and would, among
other things, make possible the erection of bilingual and
multilingual locality signs. Czech Premier Vaclav Klaus proposed
that Bulgaria, Belarus, Romania, and Ukraine, CEI associate
members since Spring 1994, be admitted as full members as soon as
possible, while Italy, now seemingly more interested in the Balkan
region than in Central Europe, called for Albania's admission.
According to CTK, Klaus' view is that the European Union and the
Central European Trade Agreement should be the forums for broader
economic cooperation in the region while the CEI should serve as a
top level forum for broad political dialogue.  Alfred Reisch,
RFE/RL, Inc.

YUGOSLAV, HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS MEET. The foreign ministers
of Hungary and rump Yugoslavia, Laszlo Kovacs and Vladislav
Jovanovic, met in Budapest on 17 July, MTI reports. Jovanovic
described the two countries' bilateral relations as "favorable"
and said Belgrade was ready to normalize them and supported
Hungary's active participation in solving regional problems.
Kovacs also called for upgrading bilateral ties and said Hungary
continued to pay "particular attention" to the situation of the
Magyar minority in Vojvodina and supported their "legitimate
aspirations" and the holding of talks between the Serbian
leadership and the Democratic Community of Hungarians of
Vojvodina.  Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc.

HUNGARIAN PREMIER IN BONN. Gyula Horn's first foreign visit took
him to Bonn on 18 July to discuss bilateral economic and European
Union related issues with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. According
to MTI, Kohl promised Germany's support in fixing a date and a
schedule for the negotiations leading to Hungary's full EU
membership. Horn asked for greater German participation in
Hungary's bank privatization process and infrastructural
investments as well as the cancellation of the remainder (DM 300
to 350 million) of Hungary's DM 400 million debt to the former
East Germany.  Alfred Reisch, RFE/RL, Inc.

  [As of 1200 CET]

  Compiled by Keith Martin and Stan Markotich
Copyright 1994, RFE/RL, Inc. All rights reserved.