RFE/RL NEWSLINE 
Vol. 1, No. 180, 16 December1997

AGREEMENT ON GABCIKOVO-NAGYMAROS TO BE
REACHED BY MARCH...  Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir
Meciar and his Hungarian counterpart, Gyula Horn, have
decided to reach an agreement over the Gabcikovo-
Nagymaros dam dispute by 25 March 1998, the deadline set
by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Meciar
and Horn met with Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima in
Vienna on 15 December, following what observers say was
the Slovak side's refusal to meet in Budapest. MS

 ...AS SLOVAKIA GIVES PARTIAL ANSWER TO
HUNGARIAN DAM PROPOSALS. Slovak officials on 15
December rejected Hungary's proposal to raise the bed of the
Danube but said they will study two other proposals by
Budapest. Peter Baco, head of the Slovak government
delegation, said Hungary's proposals to raise the water level
or build two smaller power plants need to be examined by
the Slovak side. He said unless Nagymaros or a similar plant
is completed, Slovakia will insist that Hungary pay
compensation for the shortage of electric power. The next
plenary session of the two delegations is to take place in
early January. MSZ

OECD PREDICTS ECONOMIC GROWTH. The Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development released a report
on 15 December saying that Russia's economy is likely to
expand by 0.5 percent in 1997,  3 percent in 1998, and 5
percent in 1999. The OECD expects GDP in Poland and
Hungary to grow by 4-5 percent in the next two years. But it
says the Czech economy is unlikely to expand by more than
2  percent in the same period. Slovakia is a cause for concern
because of what the OECD calls a "twin deficit" problem--a
current account deficit of 10 percent of GDP and a deepening
fiscal gap. The OECD says Romania's GDP is likely to grow by
1 percent in 1998, after a 4 percent fall in 1997. Bulgaria is
also expected to see a 2 percent growth in its GDP, following
a 6 percent decline this year. MS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
                Copyright (c) 1997 RFE/RL, Inc.
                     All rights reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx