RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 56,  19 June1997

GERMANY SUPPORTS HUNGARIAN EU MEMBERSHIP. Visiting German Economy Minister
Guenter Rexrodt told a news conference in Budapest on 18 June that Bonn
strongly supports Hungary's bid for EU membership, Hungarian media reported.
In a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn, Rexrodt said "Hungary
will inevitably be at the top of the list" for EU membership. Thanks to the
country's consistent economic policy since 1994, Hungary can serve as a model
of economic transformation for Central and Eastern Europe, he added.
Meanwhile, Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs said Hungary hopes to
conclude accession talks with the union by the year 2000 and that member
countries would ratify Hungary's membership in the EU by 2002. He said EU
officials consider Hungary's timetable "ambitious but not unrealistic."

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