MINELRES: RFE/RL on minority issues (3 October 2003)

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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 189, Part II, 3 October 2003

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SLOVAK CABINET DISMISSES NBU HEAD...

...OUTLINES TASKS FOR DELEGATION AT EUROPEAN CONSTITUTION FORUM. The
government decided on 2 October that the Slovak delegation at the Rome
Intergovernmental Conference on the European Constitution will support
the principle of "one country - one vote" on the European Commission,
CTK reported. The delegation has also been tasked with proposing the
document be named "Constitutional Treaty" instead of European
Constitution, and that a reference to Christian tradition be made in its
preamble. The cabinet decided to support the proposal that individual
country votes be weighted in line with population size, saying that in
this case the Visegrad Four group - which includes the Czech Republic,
Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia - will have the same weight as Germany and
France together. Slovakia is to support preserving the current system of
an EU rotating presidency. The cabinet voted down SMK's proposal that
Slovakia support introducing in the document a reference to ethnic
minority rights. KDH's minister voted against all proposals because the
party objects to the reference made in the draft European constitution
to the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2
October 2003) KDH Interior Minister Vladimir Palko described the
proposed constitution as an "ideologically leftist document," TASR
reported. MS

HUNGARIAN PREMIER SAYS MINORITY PROTECTION IS AN ALL-EUROPEAN AFFAIR.
In his address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in
Strasbourg, Peter Medgyessy on 2 October emphasized the importance of
protecting ethnic minority rights at the European level, and stressed
the need to integrate Romany populations in mainstream societies,
"Nepszabadsag" reported. Medgyessy also announced that Hungary will
establish a European Minority Center in Budapest under the auspices of
the Council of Europe. The new research institute would mainly deal with
issues related to immigrant minorities. Opposition FIDESZ deputies in
the assembly boycotted Medgyessy's speech, citing mainly private
engagements as an excuse for their absence. FIDESZ deputy Laszlo Surjan
said Medgyessy's speech was "poorly timed for the last session," when
interest was sparse. He added, however, "the days are gone when citizens
were ordered to attend the political leader's speech on 1 May." For his
part, coalition member Free Democrat deputy Matyas Eorsi said such a
boycott is "unprecedented, even for states living under civil-war-like
conditions." MSZ

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