Insight Central Europe News
Smaller member states oppose EU constitution compromise plan
A dozen states led by the Czech Republic are opposing the latest compromise plan on voting rights aimed at unlocking a deal on a first-ever EU constitution, a Spanish official said at the EU summit in Brussels. "There is an attack by a very large number of countries against the Irish proposal, because they think it would practically meet the Spanish position," said Alberto Navarro, Spain's minister for European affairs.
First Hungarian soldier dies in Iraq
The Hungarian contingent in Iraq lost its first soldier in an attack on Thursday morning at As-Suwayrah, 70 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. A 47-member convoy had left the Hungarian base of Hilla and was heading towards a Ukranian base when it came under attack, leaving a 27-year-old Hungarian soldier dead. Hungary deployed 300 troops, mostly logistics experts, in Iraq in September last year with a parliamentary mandate to stay there until the end of 2004. The country's political opposition has recently urged the government to withdraw its soldiers but the ruling Socialist-Liberal coalition has insisted the men will fulfil their mandate.
Slovakia's Gasparovic sworn into presidency
Slovakia has a new president. Ivan Gasparovic officially replaced Rudolf Schuster on Tuesday at noon during a ceremonial parliamentary session in Bratislava. He swore upon "his honour and conscience" allegiance to the Slovak Republic and pledged to "work for the benefit of the Slovak nation, national minorities and ethnic groups living on its territory. President Gasparovic has been elected to serve a five-year term.
Poland's Jacek Kuron has passed away
One of the key figures in the anti-communist opposition in Poland, Jacek Kuron, has died in Warsaw at the age of 70. Although a member of the communist party in his early years, Mr Kuron was among the first Polish intellectuals in the late 1960s to openly criticise the ruling communist regime. After the collapse of communism in 1989, he went on to become an MP and served as the minister of labour.
Austrian parliament rejects use of GMOs
The Austrian parliament has unanimously rejected the use of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, in crops. A motion supported by all parties called on the government to oppose permits for all GMOs and to seek the creation of zones free of genetically altered crops. The move was taken in response to recent EU Commission approval for sale of BT 11 GM corn.
Hungarian James Joyce fans celebrate 100th "Bloomsday"
Hungarian fans of the late Irish writer James Joyce gathered in the town of Szombathely this week to celebrate the 100th "Bloomsday", named for the genial protagonist of his famous novel Ulysses. Joyce put the western Hungarian town on the literary map by immortalizing a local Jewish textile merchant, Marton Blum, whom he renamed Leopold Bloom, as the main character in his masterpiece. The two men met in Trieste, where Joyce taught English and Blum was a student at the Berlitz School. On the occasion of the Bloomsday centennial, a statue of James Joyce was erected at a house in Szombathely once owned by the Blum family.
