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RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 131, 99-07-09Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: Newsline Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty <http://www.rferl.org>RFE/RL NEWSLINEVol. 3, No. 131, 9 July 1999CONTENTS[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA
[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE
[C] END NOTE
[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA[01] ARMENIAN CATHOLICOS BURIEDThe head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin I, was buried in the courtyard of the main Armenian cathedral in Echmiadzin on 8 July, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. Armenia's political leadership, foreign dignitaries and religious leaders, and thousands of Armenian believers attended the ceremony, which was preceded by a three-hour liturgy, and during which religious and political leaders paid tribute to the deceased catholicos. President Robert Kocharian said Garegin's tenure was short but "fruitful." He said Garegin was "one of the few fortunate [chief clerics]" who led their flock in an independent Armenia." Archbishop Nerses Pozapalian, who was named interim vicar-general of the Armenian Apostolic Church on 4 July, said Garegin "was able to explain God's word to the nation," according to Reuters. LF[02] ARMENIA, GEORGIA PLAN JOINT BUSINESS FORUMGeorgian parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, who attended the obsequies for Garegin, met later in Yerevan on 8 July with President Kocharian to discuss bilateral relations, RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported. The two men repeated earlier calls for an intensification of bilateral economic ties, and discussed convening a joint economic forum to that end. Zhvania characterized the March meeting in Strasbourg under Council of Europe auspices of the parliamentary speakers of all three South Caucasus states as an important step towards strengthening regional cooperation, according to Noyan Tapan. LF[03] AUSTRIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES TRANSCAUCASUS CONFLICTSVisiting Yerevan on 7 July and Tbilisi the following day, Wolfgang Schuessel helds talks with Armenian and Georgian leaders on the Karabakh and Abkhaz conflicts. Schuessel told President Kocharian that he hopes that during Austria's chairmanship of the OSCE next year progress will be made in drafting a settlement of the Karabakh conflict that will be acceptable to all sides, according to Noyan Tapan. Speaking at a press conference in Tbilisi on 8 July after talks with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, Schuessel called for greater international involvement in the Abkhaz peace process, according to Caucasus Press. The OSCE is engaged in mediating a solution to the Karabakh conflict, while a UN- sponsored group including the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K. and Russia mediates between the central Georgian government and the Abkhaz leadership. Schuessel also told journalists in Tbilisi that Austria intends to invite the speakers of the Transcaucasus parliaments to Vienna in 200 to discuss possible solutions to regional conflicts. LF[04] AZERBAIJANI CURRENCY LOSES 7 PERCENT OF VALUEAzerbaijan's manat lost 6.9 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar in trading on 8 July, Turan and AP reported. The manat exchange rate had been stable for the past four years. National Bank chairman Elman Rustamov told journalists that the devaluation had been planned in order to stimulate domestic production and improve the country's trade balance. He said the manat was over-valued by 10 -15 percent. But former Deputy Premier and Azerbaijan Popular Front Party Deputy Chairman Ali Masimov told Turan that the devaluation will not affect prices because of the population's minimal purchasing power, and predicted a further depreciation. National Independence Party of Azerbaijan Chairman Etibar Mamedov similarly predicted that the manat exchange rate will fall to 5,000 to the U.S. dollar within the next month from the previous rate of 3,950:$1. Mamedov suggested that the government's withdrawal of support for the manat was connected with plans to pay off overdue wages and pensions. LF[05] AZERBAIJAN SEEKS ALTERNATIVE OIL EXPORT OUTLETPlans to transport some 3,500 metric tons of Azerbaijani Caspian oil by rail from Makhachkala in Dagestan to Novorossiisk are in jeopardy because of limited storage capacity in Makhachkala, ITAR-TASS reported on 9 July. Azerbaijan is seeking an alternative to the Baku-Novorossiissk pipeline, which runs through Chechnya, and has been out of commission for most of this year. Pumping of oil through that pipeline resumed on 3 July after a shutdown of almost one month but was halted the following day. Representatives of the Russian pipeline operating company Transneft are due in Baku on 12 July to discuss a permanent solution to the problem. LF[06] GEORGIAN PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE UNENTHUSIASTIC OVER PLANNED BUDGET SEQUESTRATIONThe Georgian parliament's Budget and Financial Committee on 8 July discussed, but took no decision on, the proposal put forward the previous day at a government session chaired by President Shevardnadze to cut the 1999 budget by 16 million lari (approximately $8 million). Finance Minister David Onoprishvili had termed that proposal "hard but indispensible," adding that it was one of the preconditions set by the IMF for the release of a $115 loan tranche due on 26 July. Onoprishvili said the planned budget cuts will not affect pensions, salaries and allowances for displaced persons. Mikhail Djibuti, who is deputy chairman of the parliament budget committee, told Caucasus Press that the government's proposal envisages different levels of cuts for different items of expenditure. That, he said, entails amendments to the budget law, which only the parliament is entitled to pass. LF[07] RUSSIA PRESSURES KAZAKHSTAN TO LIFT BAIKONUR LAUNCH BAN...Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko sent a telegram to Kazakhstan's Premier Nurlan Balghymbaev on 8 July expressing regret for the 5 July explosion of a Russian Proton rocket launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome, ITAR-TASS reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 and 8 July 1999). Khristenko acknowledged Astana's claim for compensation for the damage to Kazakh territory, but added that "the Russian side believes that the accident should not entail a ban on all flights from the Baikonur cosmodrome." Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told journalists on 8 July that Moscow is counting on Astana not banning the launch of space vehicles that do not use Proton carrier rockets, according to Interfax. And Russian presidential aide Yevgenii Shaposhnikov said that President Yeltsin and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbaev may have to address the issue personally if lower-level Russian efforts to persuade Kazakhstan to lift the ban on future launches fail. LF[08] ...AS KAZAKH OFFICIALS ASSESS ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGEKazakhstan's Minister for Natural Resources and Environmental protection, Serikbek Daukeev, who is one of the members of the State Commission created to investigate the impact of the disaster, said on 8 July that at least 5,000 square meters of land in Kazakhstan's central Karaganda Oblast are contaminated with highly toxic heptil rocket fuel, RFE/RL's Kazakh service reported. Meirbek Moldabekov, the head of Kazakhstan's space agency, also told Reuters that poisonous gas was released into the atmosphere when the rocket exploded. No decision has yet been made on whether to evacuate residents from the regions worst affected. In Almaty, several political movements picketed the Russian Embassy on 8 July to demand a permanent ban on launches from Baikonur, RFE/RL's correspondent in the former capital reported. LF[09] KYRGYZSTAN'S PRESIDENT TERMS RUSSIA 'STRATEGIC PARTNER'In an interview published in "Nezavisimaya gazeta" on 7 July, Askar Akaev said that in the light of Kyrgyzstan's geographical situation, Russia is and will remain its "main strategic partner," particularly in the economic sphere. Akaev said that the objectives of the CIS and the Central Asian Union are similar, and focus on economic cooperation and complementarity. He downplayed the potential threat posed to Kyrgyzstan by Islamic radicalism, saying that a bomb attack last year against a traditional mosque in southern Kyrgyzstan was the work of terrorists. Akaev further rejected as "lies" claims by some Kyrgyz opposition politicians that Uzbekistan has moved its border posts several kilometers into Kyrgyz territory, adding that relations with Tashkent are "good-neighborly." LF[10] DOZENS KILLED, MISSING IN LANDSLIDES IN TAJIKISTANAt least 35 people have died and up to 30 are missing following a series of mudslides that have devastated villages in northern Tajikistan over the past three days. The presidential press service reported that the country will appeal for international aid for reconstruction of the villages affected. LF[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE[11] MILOSEVIC BACKERS GET AGGRESSIVE IN PROKUPLJE...Several thousand protesters gathered in Prokuplje on 8 July to join leaders of the opposition Alliance for Change in demanding the resignation of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Alliance leader Goran Svilanovic told the crowd that the Milosevic leadership has "put shame on us, killing and burning in our name." Balkan expert Milan Protic added: "Too much evil has been done for them to be forgiven. It is too little to just demand that they leave. We must make them leave." Alliance leaders Zoran Djindjic and Vuk Obradovic, who come from the Prokuplje area, said that Milosevic must go if Serbia is to become "respectable" and prosperous. Officials of Milosevic's Socialist Party of Serbia called off a planned counter-demonstration, but about a dozen mainly elderly supporters of the president turned out to taunt the protesters as "traitors." A man fired eight shots into the air from the balcony of Socialist headquarters, but no one was injured. PM[12] ...AND IN GRACANICASome 20 leaders of the Serbian opposition joined Archbishop Artemije and Kosova Serb leader Momcilo Trajkovic at the historic Gracanica monastery on 8 July to demand security for the Serbs of Kosova and democracy for Serbia. A group of 100 Milosevic supporters taunted the visitors, including the Alliance's Vladan Batic and the Democratic Party's Zoran Djindjic. The protesters chided Djindjic for not being in Kosova "when the bombs fell" and called him a "traitor." In Belgrade, the Democratic Party said in a statement that the 100 people are known agents-provocateurs from the secret police who have previously attacked Serbs and ethnic Albanians alike in Prishtina, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. PM[13] BELGRADE COUNCIL TURNS DOWN OPPOSITION DEMANDMembers of Vuk Draskovic's Serbian Renewal Movement joined Milosevic supporters in the Belgrade City Council in turning down a demand by the Democratic Party that the Council discuss issuing a call for Milosevic to resign. The Democrats argued that Milosevic is unable to carry out his presidential duties because, as an indicted war criminal, he is unable to travel abroad or to Kosova. In Pirot, the local council passed a resolution calling for Milosevic to go (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 7 July 1999). In Novi Sad, the leadership of the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina called for protests in several cities and towns in the coming days to demand Milosevic's ouster. PM[14] CACAK MAYOR: 'ENCIRCLE BELGRADE!'Velimir Ilic, whose town of Cacak witnessed the first recent anti-Milosevic protests, told the "Berliner Zeitung" of 9 July that Serbs outside the capital must "encircle Belgrade" with protests across the country. He added that the people of Belgrade remain "too afraid" to take to the streets, but that Milosevic's removal will be "just a matter of time" once the capital's citizens begin to demonstrate against him. Ilic stressed that the opposition must be very broadly based and led by people "who are not compromised by their past." He mentioned that he considers Draskovic "unacceptable" because of his mercurial behavior and previous participation in Milosevic's government. Some observers have suggested that several established national figures--including Draskovic and Djindjic--are too widely regarded in Serbia as opportunists and that a new generation of leaders will most likely emerge in the provinces (see "End Note," "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 July 1999). PM[15] 700,000 SERBS WITHOUT BASIC RIGHTSThe Democratic Party said in a statement in Belgrade on 8 July that some 700,000 Serbs lack elementary civil rights, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. The party charged that the government has acted "immorally and irresponsibly" by denying rights to Serbs who fled or were expelled from Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosova. The displaced Serbs do not enjoy rights to residency, citizenship, or education. The previous day, representatives of Kosova's Serbian teachers' union said in Belgrade that the Education Ministry has forbidden schools to register Serbian children from the province, who number about 50,000. Teachers from Kosova are barred from teaching in Serbia proper as part of the government's policy of forcing Serbian refugees to go back to Kosova. PM[16] ARSONISTS TORCH HOUSES IN PRIZRENUnidentified arsonists set fire to 16 houses in the traditional Serbian quarter of Prizren on 8 July, AFP reported. German KFOR commander General Fritz von Korff said that KFOR arrested six suspects. He criticized the "indifference" of Prizren's ethnic Albanian population after the latest attacks, saying that "some of them even refused to let us in to their homes to get water." Von Korff stressed that "we cannot stop new fires from happening without the cooperation of the public." Unidentified people cut off water and electricity in the Serbian neighborhood about half an hour before the fires occurred, in what von Korff called "an organized move." The German military police registered 91 incidents in the German sector on 8 July alone, including thefts, pillaging, and fires. FS[17] KOSOVARS STAGE MORE ANTI-RUSSIAN PROTESTSAbout 3,000 ethnic Albanians protested in Rahovec on 8 July for the second day in a row against plans to deploy Russian peacekeepers in that area, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Protesters held signs saying: "We don't believe Russians" and "Russians killed us," alluding to allegations that Russian volunteers and mercenaries participated in the ethnic cleansing campaign alongside Serbian police and paramilitary forces. FS[18] RUGOVA PLEDGES TO RETURNKosovar Albanian political leader Ibrahim Rugova told AP in Rome on 8 July that he will return to Kosova as early as next week. Referring to the Kosova Liberation Army, he said: "We can tolerate working together." The moderate leader also noted: "I want to start with the process of reconciliation [with other ethnic groups]...because I would like a multiethnic Kosova." Back in Kosova, provisional government Prime Minister Hashim Thaci told RFE/RL's South Slavic Service that "Rugova has a deadline until the end of this week to take up his position [and fill those reserved for other Democratic League of Kosova representatives] in the government." FS[19] POLICE CHIEF KILLED IN BELGRADEAn unidentified person or group killed Dragan Simic, who was police chief in the Savski Venac district of the capital, in Belgrade on 8 July. A police spokesman said that the circumstances of the murder remain "unclear." Simic is the fifth police official to be murdered in Belgrade in 1999 alone, RFE/RL's South Slavic Service reported. Speculation on the motives behind the previous murders has centered on the possible criminal links of individual police officials or on the possible desire of powerful people to eliminate police officials who "knew too much." PM[20] MACEDONIAN, ALBANIAN PRESIDENTS DISAGREE OVER KOSOVA SOLUTIONAlbanian President Rexhep Meidani told his Macedonian counterpart Kiro Gligorov in Skopje on 8 July that "in five to 10 years, we [will] see two new entities, Kosova and Montenegro, as an integral part of Europe," Reuters reported. Meidani acknowledged that Gligorov does "not share the same opinion," but stressed that both men "want to live in Europe, where borders are irrelevant," Meidani told reporters. Gligorov argued that "the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia should be respected.... Changes of borders and the realization of dreams of greater nations is dangerous not only for the region, but for Europe itself." Meidani said he does not see the disagreement between him and Gligorov as causing tensions and stressed that "the integration of ethnic Albanians in the [Macedonian] government and institutions has helped Macedonia preserve its stability." The two presidents also discussed bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Balkan stability pact, an RFE/RL South Slavic Service correspondent reported. FS[21] GREECE DENIES THAT ALBANIAN EXPULSIONS ARE RACIALLY MOTIVATEDPublic Order Minister Mikhailis Khrisokhoidhis on 8 July rejected claims that a series of recent roundups and checks of Albanian immigrants were racially motivated, Reuters reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 July 1999). Albanian Foreign Minister Paskal Milo is scheduled to visit Athens on 9 July to discuss the increasing number of expulsions of Albanian immigrants. A Foreign Ministry official in Tirana said that Greek authorities have expelled about 3,500 Albanian immigrants since 1 July, while Greek police put the number at about 1,000. The Albanian Foreign Ministry also asked Greece to investigate claims that Albanian deportees were being mistreated in Greece. FS[22] SERBIAN RETURN TO DRVAR TO BE CONDITIONAL?Ilija Sljivic, who is deputy mayor of the western Bosnian town of Drvar, told "Oslobodjenje" of 9 July that Serbs may return to his town once the Bosnian Serb authorities allow his fellow Croats to go back to their homes in Bosanski Brod (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 July 1999). Sljivic stressed that 15,000 Croats have formally requested to go home to Bosanski Brod. PM[23] GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER CALLS CROATIAN ELECTION KEY OPPORTUNITYJoschka Fischer said in Zagreb on 8 July that the parliamentary elections slated for later in 1999 have made this a "decisive year" for Croatia's "road to democracy and to Europe." He stressed that the new election law should reflect a broad consensus and that all parties must have fair access to the media, "Jutarnji list" reported. PM[24] GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN BUCHARESTJoschka Fischer on 8 July met with his Romanian counterpart, Andrei Plesu, President Emil Constantinescu, and Prime Minister Radu Vasile, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. Fischer thanked Romania for its stance on the Kosova conflict and said his country supports Romania's bid for EU and NATO membership. However, he refused to say when the country might become a member of NATO. He also said that it would be "a misunderstanding" for Romania and other neighbors of Yugoslavia to expect that they will receive compensation under the Balkan stability pact for the losses they suffered as a result of the EU's oil embargo on Yugoslavia. Plesu said Romania is seeking an "urgent end" to the embargo. MS[25] ROMANIAN OIL WORKERS PROTEST IN BUCHARESTHundreds of oil workers from the Petromidia refinery on 8 July demonstrated in Bucharest to demand that the Black Sea company resume regular operations. The company, Romania's largest, has been forced to suspend operations due to an inconclusive privatization deal signed in January with the Akmaya Turkish firm. Under the deal, Romania was to offer Akmaya foreign investment incentives. However, the government decree that allowed for such incentives was annulled after the IMF and the World Bank objected to some of its provisions. Akmaya has announced that it will sue for breach of contract. The cabinet on 8 July decided that it would restart the privatization process and confiscate Akmaya's deposit if the company backs out of the deal. MS[26] WESTERN, RUSSIAN FIRMS TO UPGRADE BULGARIAN NUCLEAR PLANTA consortium of three companies on 8 July signed in Sofia a $300 million contract for the modernization of nuclear units 5 and 6 at the Kozloduy power station, Reuters and AP reported. Bulgarian Energy Committee Chairman Ivan Shilyashki said that half of the financing for the modernization will come from the EU's Euratome and Bulgaria will cover the rest with the help of loans from the countries that are participating in the consortium. German's Siemens AG, France's Framatome, and Russia's Atomenergoexport are scheduled to begin the modernization program next summer and to complete it in 2005. The modernization of the two 1,000-megawatt units will help Bulgaria decommission its four older 440-megawatt reactors at Kozloduy, which the EU considers to be unsafe. MS[27] NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL IN BULGARIAIn an address to the Bulgarian parliament on 8 July, Javier Solana congratulated Bulgaria for its contribution to resolving the Kosova crisis. He said that Sofia's actions "demonstrated as clearly as possible that Bulgaria is, indeed, a member of the Euro-Atlantic community, [which is] a community of shared values." Repeating comments he made in Bucharest earlier that day, Solana said Bulgaria and Romania are both making progress in their quest for NATO membership, but he refused to indicate when those two countries might become members. Solana also held talks with President Petar Stoyanov and Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova, BTA reported. MS[28] RUSSIA REQUESTS SEA, LAND TRANSIT CORRIDORS IN BULGARIATsvyatko Donchev, press chief of Bulgaria's coordination center with KFOR, on 8 July said that Russia has asked Bulgaria for sea and land corridors for the transit of its troops to Kosova, Reuters reported. On 9 July, the Bulgarian parliament approved Russia's earlier request for overflights by a vote of 213-1 (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 July 1999). ITAR-TASS reported that the overflight permission is valid for "one time only. " MS[29] ARAB COUNTRIES REVOKE LANDING RIGHTS OF BULGARIAN AIRLINEA Bulgarian radio report, cited by dpa on 8 July, confirmed that both Lebanon and Libya have revoked the landing rights of Balkan Air at their airports. Tunisia, Algeria, and Dubai are reportedly planning to do the same. Balkan Air was recently sold to an Israeli consortium (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 8 July 1999). MS[C] END NOTE[30] 'SVEJKISM' AND THE CZECH ACCESSION TO THE EUBy Michael ShafirSome love him, others despise him, but there is no way one can overlook him. Jaroslav Hasek's hero, that famous warrior of the Austro-Hungarian empire whose favorite pastime was saying "yes" and acting "no," is apparently destined to survive every turn in his country's fortunes. And there is a good reason for that. After all, it was not the empire, but the good soldier Svejk who came out on top. He survived the Nazis without fighting them and he survived communism and the Soviet invasion (without fighting them either). So why shouldn't he survive "globalization" and that facet of it known as "European integration?" For wanting to access the European Union is one thing, but doing so on the terms imposed by the union may be another thing altogether. Maybe it is time to say "yes" and act "no" once more. Otto von Habsburg told a conference of RFE/RL staff in Munich some years ago that the EU is a revived version of the empire his ancestors had ruled over. And he should know what he is talking about. In its summer 1998 evaluation report on the progress of union membership candidates towards accession, the EU criticized the Czech Republic's slowness in bringing its legislation into line with that of the union's member states. Some observers believe that the next report, expected in September 1999, could be even more critical. There is widespread speculation that the 2003 target, which the Czechs set for themselves for joining the union, will be missed, and that Prague will fall further and further behind the other four "fast-track" countries (Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, and Poland). By late June of this year, the Czechs were able to conclude preliminary talks on only eight out of the 15 legislative chapters proposed by the union. Some of the divergent views seem hard to reconcile. For example, Prime Minister Milos Zeman has already rejected Austria's demand that Prague ratify the EU Convention on Evaluation of the Influence of the Environment, which would threaten the completion of the controversial Temelin nuclear plant. Some politicians in Vienna have threatened to veto Czech accession as a result. The minority Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) on 28 June decided to ask the EU for so-called "opt- outs" or "transitional periods" on seven areas related to environmental legislation. Foreign Minister Jan Kavan indicated on 22 June that his government is likely to ask for similar "opt-outs" with regard to legislation on the purchase of real estate by foreigners. Hungary has also said it wants a 10-year "transitional period" for the purchase of land by foreigners, and Poland is likely to follow suit. The EU may, in turn, ask for an "opt-out" on letting in the cheap labor force of the new members. All of this suggests that the so-called "fast-track" accession of the new members will, in actual fact, be rather slow. The Czech government has an alibi for its failure to quickly implement the legislation required by the EU. The cabinet headed by Zeman is ruling with the grace of Vaclav Klaus's opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS). And Klaus, true to his self-promoted image as a "Thatcherite," has been anything but enthusiastic about some aspects of EU membership. The ODS is against signing the EU's Social Charter, for example and on 8 July, when the parliament ratified the charter, its deputies opposed ratification. Klaus is also opposed to the euro single currency and has repeatedly insisted (most recently in an interview with "Lidove noviny" published on 3 June) that Europe should be based on the "national state." This is why the ODS on 8 June voted against an amendment to the constitution that would have enabled the government to issue decrees with the force of law. The amendment was aimed at speeding up the implementation of EU legislation by avoiding prolonged debate in parliament. The ODS thus effectively "killed" the government's attempt at making the "fast-track" faster, because the government needed the support of the ODS to secure a majority large enough to pass such a constitutional amendment. This occurred to the expressed desperation of President Vaclav Havel, who is an ardent partisan of quick accession. Yet there is reason to believe that the CSSD shed only crocodile tears over this failure. Like its predecessors, the cabinet headed by Zeman is caught in a dilemma when it comes to EU accession. Following Czechoslovakia's split in 1993, Prague and Bratislava established a customs union, which has proved highly beneficial to both countries. Indeed, few people realize that despite the fact that Slovakia had until recently pursued a different path in its political reforms, the economic integration of the two countries has remained very strong. This is precisely why the former Klaus administration had insisted on obtaining an exemption from the EU's customs legislation so that Prague could maintain the existing arrangement with Bratislava. To no avail, however, for the EU would certainly not grant the Czech Republic what it denied to the U.K., when London wanted to introduce Commonwealth imports into the union through the back door. The latest talks on adherence, which ended on 22 June, produced little progress regarding this aspect. Kavan said after their conclusion that Prague may ask for a "transition period" on the customs union with Slovakia or look for a "compromise solution," adding that he may submit some suggestions to Brussels this autumn. Meanwhile, German State Minister Gunther Verheugen, who chaired the session, suggested the problem could be resolved by having both countries join the union at the same time--a scenario that became possible after the political change that swept Vladimir Meciar out of power in Bratislava in September 1998. Observers interpreted Verheugen's remark as a slap in the face for Prague, as it confirmed the EU's dissatisfaction with the tardiness of the Czechs while at the same time acknowledging the improved chances of the Slovaks. But one may well wonder whether the Czechs were really all that impressed by the remark. In his corner in the famous Prague tavern "U fleku," the good soldier Svejk must have raised a toast, for he never took deadlines too seriously, as long as he had it his way. Unwittingly playing the role of a perfect Lieutenant Lukacs--Svejk's superior in Hasek's novel--Verheugen was probably unaware that the good soldier had eagerly been waiting to be "disciplined." 09-07-99 Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
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