RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 11, 15 April 1997

FRANCE WANTS SECURITY PARTNERSHIP WITH NATO
CANDIDATES. A spokeswoman for President Jacques Chirac
said yesterday that France wants to build a security
partnership with NATO candidate countries not invited to join
the alliance in the first round of eastward expansion. The
statement came after talks between Chirac and Latvian
President Guntis Ulmanis in Paris. The spokeswoman said
Chirac wants the partnership to take the form of a charter
between NATO and Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and
Sweden. France has tried to have Romania included in the
first group of nations but has encountered resistance from
other NATO members. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech
Republic are expected to be offered the first bids for
membership at the NATO summit in Madrid this summer.

HUNGARIAN JUNIOR COALITION PARTY LEADER
RESIGNS. Ivan Peto resigned yesterday as chairman of the
Alliance of Free Democrats and leader of the party's faction,
Hungarian media reported. He said he was stepping down
because of the need to "renew" the party before next year's
elections. Peto denied any connection between his resignation
and the "Marta Tocsik affair." Tocsik is an independent
consultant who received fees totaling some $5 million for her
services to the State Privatization and Holding Agency. Those
funds are believed to have reached businessmen close to the
Free Democrats. Peto is replaced as party chairman by Interior
Minister Gabor Kuncze until a special congress next month
elects his successor.

UPDATE ON  ROW OVER HUNGARIAN HEALTH INSURANCE
FUND. Agnes Cser, director-general of the Health Insurance
Fund, remains in her post for the time being, following a
"stormy" meeting of the Health Insurance Authority board
Hungarian media reported yesterday. Peter Simsa, head of the
board, has accused Cser of causing billions of forints in losses
((see RFE/RL Newsline, 14 April 1997). No-confidence motions
against both Simsa and the board as a whole were voted down,
while Welfare Minister Mihaly Kokeny told the gathering that
the report accusing Cser was "inadequately prepared" and
"one-sided."

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