Insight Central Europe News
Central European EU Commissioners get new jobs
Central European countries have broadly welcomed the distribution of posts in the new European Commission by the Commission's chief, Jose Manuel Barroso. Poland's former chief EU negotiator, Danuta Huebner has been given regional policy, and Vladimir Spidla - until recently Czech Prime Minister - has employment and social policy, while Slovakia's Jan Figel has education and culture, Slovenia's Janez Patocnik science and research, and Hungary's foreign minister Laszlo Kovacs energy. Mr Barroso resisted pressure to give the major posts in the Commission exclusively to the larger EU member countries.
Austrian seminary closed amid sex scandal
The Vatican has closed a 200 year old Catholic seminary near the Austrian capital Vienna after it was hit by a sex and pornography scandal. The bishop of Feldkirch in eastern Austria, Klaus Kueng, was appointed by the pope to lead a probe into the seminary last month, after a 27-year-old Polish student priest was charged with possessing some 10,000 pornographic photographs. The Bishop critized the leadership of the seminary for long-standing laxity by "paying too little attention to recruiting requirements" for future priests and "serious errors in orientation".
Hungary to hold controversial referendum
An organisation representing Hungarians internationally has succeeded in gathering the 200,000 signatures required to force Hungary's parlament to hold a referendum on giving Hunagarians outsider the country's borders the right to dual citizenship. The move is likely to cause friction with Hungary's neighbours, which are home to sizable Hungarian minorities.
Hungarian Defence Ministry wants troops to stay in Iraq
The Hungarian Defence Ministry has announced it will definitely recommend extending the mandate of the Hungarian troops serving in Iraq as members of a transport unit. The decision will have to be endorsed by a two-thirds majority in Parliament, to extend the troops' presence in Iraq to the end of next year.
Polish troops will not fight in Najaf
Polish troops stationed in Iraq will not be directly involved in the offensive launched by US marines to crush the rebellion of Shi'ite mititias in Najaf. This was stated by Polish military sources in Iraq. Polish helicopters may be used to evacuate wounded American soldiers.
Slovak National Bank says the country is well on the way to adopting the euro
The Slovak National Bank has said that Slovakia should be able to fulfill all the Maastricht criteria by the end of 2007 in order to introduce the euro in 2008 or 2009. The bank states that the country already easily meets the public debt conditions, with a 43 percent GDP debt, well below the 60 percent ceiling. But Slovakia does need to reduce inflation significantly.
