HUNGARY/ ROMANIA/ SLOVAKIA : Hungarian Passport Demand Surges Under New Citizenship Law.

BBC/ Laurence Peter /

    Thousands are applying for Hungarian passports at Romanian consulates in regions that used to be part of Hungary after a new citizenship law took effect
   One expert said "hundreds of thousands" would apply in Transylvania, northern Romania. Officially Romania has about 1.5 million ethnic Hungarians, though some estimate "nearly two million".
   Some Slovakian politicians have condemned the law because southern Slovakia has about 500,000 ethnic Hungarians, nearly 10 percent of the population.

EASTERN EUROPE: Economies Ride German Export Wave For Growth; But Still Neglected By Foreign Capital.

BLOOMBERG/ Ott Ummelas /
   Eastern Europe is drafting behind Germany's 3.7% economic expansion - its fastest growth since 1991.
    “Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic all expanded at a much faster pace than we had expected, while the Romanian economy shrank by less than we thought likely after last quarter’s fiscal squeeze,” said economist Neil Shearing. “The key driver was probably a rebound in industrial exports on the back of continued strong growth in Germany.”
    “The key issue is whether the German export machine can withstand the renewed slowdown in the global economy that appears likely over the next year or so,” Shearing said. “We’re cautiously pessimistic.”

  BLOOMBERG also reports:
     Eastern Europe's nations are struggling to attract foreign capital even as some Asian and Latin American countries struggle to control the flood of hot money from investors seeking higher yields.
   “The countries that need the money the most are the ones with the biggest difficulty,” said economist Nigel Rendell. “They’d like more money from overseas, but I’m not sure they are going to get a great deal more because it’s just too risky.”  
 SEE: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-12/global-currency-war-may-miss-investment-starved-east-european-countries.html 

POLAND: Warsaw, Budapest and Slovakia Brace For Flooding; Vistula, Oder, Danube Rising Again.

REUTERS/    Floods have plagued Poland since mid-May and are now overshadowing the 20 June presidential election as weather officials forecast more storms in southern Poland in the coming week. Many Poles are also angry that emergency aid has been delayed because of the upcoming election. Warsaw expects a new flood crest on the Vistula river while Budapest sandbagged against the Danube and Slovakia suffers its worst flood in centuries. Preliminary losses caused by the first wave of floodwater in Poland two weeks ago -  18 lives and 2.5 billion euros. PM Donald Tusk asserted that there was no need to declare a nationwide state of emergency caused by the flooding and  would be taken only with difficulties in evacuating the affected population.

EASTERN EUROPE: 2010 Economic Forecast.

BUSINESSWEEK/        Poland and Slovakia will expand 2.7%, compared with an average of 1% for the 27-member EU, projects an EU report. The Czech Republic will grow 1.6% and Hungary will stagnate. Germany may grow by 1.2%.

Like The Czechs, Slovak Minister May Also Seek Lisbon Treaty Exemption.

REUTERS/NYTIMES/
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said his government may ask for an exemption from the Lisbon treaty to protect itself from potential post-war property claims... if the Czechs succeed in getting one.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Balazs Speaks About Slovakia.

BUDAPEST TIMES/
Foreign minister Péter Balázs spoke to The Budapest Times about relations between Slovakia and Hungary, refusal to allow Hungarian President László Sólyom to enter Slovakia, and the Slovakia's own goals.

( You can also check this blog's news/links for... Sept. 3... Aug. 25... and Aug. 22... for more background on this story)

Hungarians In Slovakia March Against New Law.

IRISH TIMES.
About 7,000 people marched in the town of Dunajska Streda, near Slovakia’s border with Hungary, opposing a law that only the Slovak language can be used in public offices and institutions, with repeat offenders threatened with a €5,000 fine.

Hungarians Summon Slovak Ambassador To Protest Denied Visit.

BBC.

Budapest has summoned Slovakia's ambassador to protest Bratislava's refusal to let Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom into the country.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Balazs described Slovakia's refusal to allow Solyom into the country as "unprecedented and unacceptable."

Hungarian President Calls Off Slovakian Visit.

REUTERS.

Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom canceled a visit to Slovakia after Bratislava called the trip a provocation.

Slovakia sent a note saying Solyom was not welcome in the central European country on August 21, the 41st anniversary of the Soviet-led invasion of what was then Czechoslovakia.

Poland Headed Out Of Recession.

KRAKOW POST.

Poland will probably emerge from recession sometime in early 2010, say Polish economists, unlike Slovakia and Hungary.

Slovakia's Auto Industry And Economy Decline.

GLOBALPOST.COM.

Slovakia used to boast it was Europe's Detroit. But then came along the economic crisis.

"Estimates had called for Slovakian production to reach 800,000 cars in 2008 and to top 1 million in 2009. Instead, production last year stayed at 2007 levels, and some analysts expect production to fall by a fifth this year."

Recession Causes Deep Eastern Europe Deficits.

BLOOMBERG.

Hungarian Prime Minister Warns Ambassadors Of Social Crisis.

From the Budapest Times.

Slovenia/Croatia Meet To Resolve Maritime Border Dispute.

From Bloomberg.

Slovakia Outlaws Using Hungarian.

From The Economist.

Up to $7,000 can be levied for using the Hungarian language in Slovakia under a new law that begins in September.

Hungary...Eastern Europe's New Shoppers Paradise

The Hungarian currency's 14 percent decline this year... against the euro... is spurring Slovaks to shop til they drop in Hungary.

This phenomenon of "shopping tourism"will be studied by a European commission.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601095&sid=annjtpNckalo