RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE  18 November 1999

STATUS OF ETHNIC HUNGARIANS TO BE SETTLED IN TWO YEARS. Tibor
Szabo, the chairman of the Office for Hungarians Beyond the
Borders, said on 17 November that the cabinet intends to
resolve the legal status of ethnic Hungarians abroad within
two years, Hungarian media reported. Prime Minister Viktor
Orban said the planned bills would grant ethnic Hungarians a
status of "more than tourist but less than citizen." He said
an amendment to the electoral law that would give voting
rights to Hungarians living abroad has no chance of being
passed as it would require the support of two-thirds of
deputies in the parliament. MSZ

BALKAN CRIME FIGHTING CENTER OPENS IN BUCHAREST. The
Southeast European Cooperation Initiative (SECI) formally
opened its headquarters in Bucharest on 16 November, Reuters
reported. The center will coordinate information from its 10
member states to facilitate the regional fight against
organized crime. The U.S.-sponsored SECI comprises Albania,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary,
Macedonia, Moldova, Turkey, and Romania. SECI President
Richard Schifter said the U.S. will contribute $400,000 to
equip the new center. VG

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