EU Foreign Ministers look into alleged Serb oppression of Hungarian minority
17.9.2004 - Kerry Skyring

European Union Foreign Ministers are compiling a report on alleged Serb oppression of the Hungarian minority in the Vojvodina province of Serbia. Hungary alleges atrocities have been carried out against the ethnic Hungarian minority who have lived in the Vojvodina province for centuries. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica has toured the region. He says it's in nobody's interest to have new ethnic tensions in the Balkans. But, he also appears to play down Hungary's complaints. So are the Hungarians of Vojvodina subjected to attacks and suppression?

Henriette Riegler is a Balkans expert at the Austrian Institute for International Relations:

"I think they are not exaggerating. I think this is true and there is a whole history of actions against non-Serb minorities in Vojvodina since the beginning of the 1990s."

So, not only the Hungarian minority?

"The Croatian minority was also kind of a target. This was not given much importance because at that time there was the war within Croatia itself so everybody was preoccupied with the Croatian territory and the war theatre. Somehow, Vojvodina escaped not only the international view or interest but also more or less the national interests of both Croatia and Hungary."

So how do the Hungarian and other minorities experience this discrimination and these attacks?

"It is something that has to do with this picture of 'greater Serbia'. Within former Yugoslavia then and Serbia Montenegro now, especially within Serbia, to be an ordinary citizen in many cases means that you have to be a Serb. So, you [the minority] are a third or second class citizen. On the other hand, I think it's a kind of political game, especially a game played by the ultra-nationalists."

We had Kostunica of Serbia going to Vojvodina this week and saying this is being exaggerated and this place is an example of multi-ethnic living. Surely, he has some credibility in this issue?

"I think this is about Serbian politics. Kostunica is also trying to play it down. On the other hand, I think he has another position on the minorities living in Vojvodina and on Vojvodina as a multi-ethnic province. Nevertheless, I think the complaints made by the minority are quite right."

Hungary has taken this up within the European Union Council of Ministers. What can Europe do to try and protect these minorities?

"I think what they can do and also what they will do is exert pressure, especially because Hungary is now a member of the European Union and has its political role. So, it's easier for them to do something for their minorities than it is for Croatia, which is not a member of the European Union. Serbia wants to be an EU member and now certain pressure can be exerted on them. I think you have to make it clear that Serbia has to be a democratic country and if ultra-nationalists are standing in the way political institutions have to do something with these nationalists."

Slovenia hosts international conference on illegal immigration and organised crime
17.9.2004 - Michael Manske

Interior ministers from 14 south-eastern European countries gathered outside the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana on Tuesday for a conference on illegal immigration and organised crime. Countries from south-eastern Europe have already been cooperating for a number of years in order to prevent illegal immigration, human trafficking and other types of crimes. Since Slovenia joined the EU in May, this year's conference was the first to be held on EU soil. It was also the first to include Greece and Turkey.

Slovenia's minister of internal affairs, Dr. Rado Bohinc:

"The 14 Balkan countries have strongly agreed to commit themselves to control the Balkan criminal road, over which runs not only illegal immigration, but also different kinds of illicit trading, trafficking in people, dangerous substances, stolen vehicles, drugs, highly taxed products and so on. Only regional cooperation can be effective. I am delighted that several countries are seriously cooperating in the breaking up of organized crime syndicates. Therefore, we will continue with our work, now and in the future."

The pressure of refugees and other illegal immigrants are, obviously, mostly felt by members of the European Union. Therefore, they are keenly interested in cooperating against this phenomenon. Austrian Interior Minister Dr. Strasser:

"I am thankful to note that Slovenia is, for the fourth time, bringing together these countries, here in the vicinity of Ljubljana, to achieve a common strategy to deal with the question of immigration. I think that today's conference brought some exceptional results, which are very strongly supported by Austria - i.e. the equal distribution of the burden which we, justifiably, support since individual countries which have specific geographic challenges should not be called upon to shoulder more expenses than others."

Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia Hercegovina are countries from which many organized crimes originate from, notably illegal immigration, human trafficking, and other illicit activities. And Croatia who until recently still threw a blind eye to these problems, now intends to deal with them more seriously in the future. Croatian interior minister Dr Marjan Mlinaric:

"Only with good bilateral relations and appropriate local contacts can we counteract these issues and solve them successfully. At the Croatian interior ministry we will pay special attention to these issues. Croatia is now in the same position as Slovenia was some years ago -- we have become candidates for EU membership and therefore our responsibilities are even bigger."

Of the countries in the European Union, Greece is (next to Italy) the most exposed to the pressure of illegal immigrants because of its geographical position. Leading the Greek delegation at the conference was ambassador Nikolaidis:

"One of the main problems we have is not only the illegal immigrants, but the trafficking of human beings, women, coming from various countries in the area (through organized networks) who come to work in Greece, which come for purposes for which they are not supposed to come, and other related issues."

No matter what their specific problems may be, each of the conference attendees agreed that these problems won't go away soon, and that they can best be battled together.

World Bank praises Slovakia's efforts to improve business environment
17.9.2004 - Anca Dragu

A recent report from the World Bank praises Slovakia as being the country which improved its business environment the most during the last year. The report called Doing Business 2005 praises the country for passing reforms to fiscal and labour policy, reducing the time needed to set up new businesses, reducing red tape and improving the debt collection system.

Roger Growe the Head of World Bank's Office for Central Europe explains.

"Slovakia made the most progress of any country in reducing the cost of starting a business. The labour market reforms in Slovakia resulted in Slovakia having one of the lowest costs of firing workers, in other words increasing flexibility in the labour market and one of the lowest ranking in terms of rigidity of employment. Slovakia also ranks at the top in terms of legal rights of the creditors and in terms of rules of disclosure resulting in the protection of investors."

The report comes as a breath of fresh air for Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda whose reformist government has been embroiled in bitter internal political wrangling for most of the last year.

"This excellent result is the proof that the reforms this government has initiated work. Its message is that political stability can improve the economic performance of our country and bring prosperity."

I asked the economist Robert Prega what impact such a positive report could have on the future of the Slovak economy.

"It's a positive signal of course for foreign investors. We have already seen the effects of this changed economic approach particularly when the influx of foreign direct investment has increased and we expect it will increase in the next three or four years. And of course it's the most critical aspect that can increase the export performance of the Slovak economy and then its competition. It's influencing of course the financial markets too because the changed approach of foreign investors is the key factor why the crown, our currency, has been appreciating in the last two years."

Will ordinary people be impressed by the findings of the World Bank?

"There is still some time lag till the macroeconomic indicators will be felt in household consumption. But it has already started to change this year and it should be felt more mainly next year. There was some increase in the energy prices at the beginning of this year but from next year we expect stability in regulated prices and inflation will decrease markedly somewhere to 3 percent and this will be the main factor why real wages will increase quite strongly in the next year and the positive macroeconomic figures could be felt more strongly by the people."

However Robert Prega says that Slovak authorities shouldn't get too infatuated by the Doing Business report.

"The weakness of doing business is corruption. Despite the recent improvement there are still problems with the enforcement of the law in line with the bankruptcy law. There is still a long time for people to wait until they are able to exit the business."

On the same day the World Bank report was published, the Slovak Statistical Office said that the GDP growth for this year will be slightly higher than initially forecast.

Is Poland's Bialowieza forest accommodating to tourists at the expense of losing its special charm?
17.9.2004 - Danuta Szafraniec

When you visited the primeval forest of Bialowieza on the Polish Belarussian border a few years ago to see European bison roaming in the wild, you couldn't expect to stay in a luxurious hotel, because there weren't any. Now Bialowieza has a dozen of new hotels, with new tourist facilities springing up all the time. But according to some, who cherished this place that seemed stuck in a time warp, Bialowieza may now be more comfortable to visit, but at the expense of its special charm.

The call of the European bison, the reason why everyone comes to Bialowieza national park. Located in the north-east of Poland, it was established in 1921 with the aim of protecting the last natural primeval forest preserved on the European continent. Filled with thousands of species of animals (including its most recognized symbol - the European bison), it's a heaven for nature-oriented tourists and scientists studying the natural processes that have long been transformed in other European woodland areas. For centuries the Bialowieza National Park has been used as a royal hunting ground. It was possibly the world's first forest protected by law, back in the 15th century. Deputy Director of Bialowieza National Park, Bogdan Jaroszewicz explains why.

"The national park itself has an area of 10,517 hectares, but the Bialowieza forest is the first massive on the border between Poland and Belarus, and that's 62,000 hectares on the Polish side and 87 on the Byelorussian side. This forest is inhabited by over 20,000 species of animals. We estimate that we have about 4,000 species of fungi and over 1,000 species of plants. This place is unique because the economical processes are unbroken for thousands of years. Such processes usually were broken by a logging of the forest in the rest of Europe over a few hundred years ago. So that, as well as the big number of these species, is what makes this place very unique."

Most of those precious species are insects as Bialowieza forest is known for insects developing in dead wood and big old trees. That's not what normally happens in other European woodland areas, where logging and clearing of deadwood is standard procedure. However, the unquestionable symbol of the Bialowieza primeval forest is the European bison.

"The bison is a very unique mammal that was saved by workers of the national park and scientists. It was brought back to nature here in the Bialowieza forest. For a long time it was the only place in the world where European bison were still roaming. And now in Poland we have about 800 of these species and five places where they live in free conditions."

Is it difficult to breed them?

"Yes, because they need quite large areas and a very careful approach."

Most parts of this forest are accessible to tourists, and environmentalists point out, logging companies, only the core area of 5000 hectares, being on the World Heritage Site, is protected. While Polish European bison breeders boast of their success in bringing the species to life from near-extinction, there are those who say that this Poland's most precious nature reserve is not free from dangers. Since the onset of the free market, logging companies have decimated trees in Bialowieza Forest, while environmentalists are warning that the uncontrolled influx of tourists, and the rapid development of infrastructure, may make the situation even worse.

First Czech translation of Old English classic Beowulf a mammoth task
17.9.2004 - Ian Willoughby

Beowulf, written by an unknown Christian poet some time between the 8th and 10th centuries, is now regarded as the one of the most important texts in Old English. In Prague, academic Jan Cermak has done the first ever Czech translation of Beowulf, which was a mammoth task. Radio Prague's Ian Willoughby asked Mr Cermak roughly how many years the work had taken.

"That's hard to assess, because in terms of years that elapsed between the commencing and the book coming out it is nine or ten. Regardless of the technical difficulties and other problems on the way, I needed some four or five years to produce the translation as it stands."

Is your translation into contemporary Czech or Old Czech?

"There is no Old Czech in existence that could be used as a target language for the Old English Beowulf, simply because the Czech literary documents only start in the Middle Ages of chivalry, much later than anything comparable with Beowulf. Which means you must look for a compromise for something that would sound archaic and majestic enough, and yet be intelligible, not perhaps put the reader off the track for being abstruse."

Has Beowulf been translated into for instance Polish or Slovak?

"As far as I know there is no Slovak translation as yet; I'm not quite sure about Polish. But for sure most of the neighbouring countries and the Slavonic countries have their Beowulfs."

Who's going to read your translation of Beowulf? Students? Or are you hoping for a wider readership?

"I'm hoping for a wider readership. With that aim we tried to put the book together. It should be both for students of literature, students of English and intellectuals eager to know more about the roots of European literatures."

Has "Lord of the Rings" mania had any influence on sales of the book, or interest among students?

"I don't really know. The links are immediate but more tenuous than they may seem at first sight. Back to your question - I think that to some extent yes. After all those delays and the many years the book took to prepare, this was not a bad time to publish it after all."