William Penn Life, 2003 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2003-02-01 / 2. szám
Agreement on subsidies allows Hungary to join European Union in 2004 Magyar Matters from The Budapest Sun BUDAPEST — Hungary will join the European Union on May 1, 2004, after an agreement reached on the issues of budget and agricultural subsidies between the 15 member states and Hungary, as well as nine other candidate countries, at the EU summit in Copenhagen. Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Medgyessy announced in late December that the Hungarian delegation had accepted the final offer of the EU. According to the offer, Hungarian farmers will get agricultural subsidies that will provide for 55 percent of what their EU counterparts receive and the sum will be raised by five percent annually. This way, Hungary will reach parity with existing EU member states in six years instead of the originally-proposed 10 years. However, the percentage of direct EU contribution to these sums remained unchanged at 25 percent in 2004 and additional five percent increases during 2005 and 2006. The EU accepted that the rest of the agricultural subsidies would be provided for by the Hungarian national budget. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs László Kovács emphasized that the EU's acceptance of the national supplement to agricultural subsidies meant that the most significant Hungarian demand was honored. In connection with the balance of Hungary's EU budget, Kovács also announced that in 2004 Hungary would get 271 million euros more than it would pay to the common EU budget. The balance will be 499 million euros in 2005 and 618 million euros in 2006. Hungary was granted the right to forbid foreigners to buy Hungarian land for an additional three-year period taking the total ban period to 10 years. Takács Quartet, Muzsikás to headline celebration of Hungarian music PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Chamber Music Society will host a celebration of Hungarian music March 26 featuring the Takács Quartet with Muzsikás and guest vocalist Márta Sebestyn. This performance of traditional Hungarian folk songs and works by Bartók and Kodály will be held at the Carnegie Music Hall beginning at 8:00 p.m. The Takács Quartet won Gramophone magazine's 2002 "Chamber Music Recording of the Year" award for its release of the first volume of Beethoven Cyle (the middle quartets). The Washington Post said of the quartet: "The depth of the Takács interpretations, matched with its superlative virtuosic technique and a consistently warm, velvety tone, made an attractive case to name it preeminent among active string quartets." Muzsikás—called "Hungary's finest active folk group" by The Washington Post—is comprised of performers who present instrumental and vocal styles of their homeland in their original forms. Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for students. WPA members and friends can receive a 10 percent discount off these prices simply by mentioning that they read about the concert in the William Penn Life and by purchasing their tickets by March 21. Additional discounts for groups of 10 or more are also available. For tickets and more information about the concert, call 412-624-4129. For more information about the Takács Quartet and Muzsikás, log onto the PCMS website at http:// trfn. clpgh.org/pcms. In Brief Hungary endures record cold wave BUDAPEST— Record low temperatures were set in many parts of Hungary in mid-January after a period of heavy snowfall. The daytime low temperature record of -24.8°C (-13°F) was broken early on Jan. 12 in several parts of northeast Hungary, with a new record of-30.9°C (-24°F) registered in the village of Zabar in Nógrád county. Most trains suffered some delays due to frozen track and in some areas the tracks were broken by the severe cold. The streets of Budapest were cleared by more than 120 snowplows. By Jan. 9 the main roads had been cleared of snow and the snowplows were working on side streets. Only two coldrelated deaths had been reported in the capital by Jan. 15. Airport renovations BUDAPEST — Passengers departing with the Hungarian airline MALÉV, even if their flight is a code-share with another international airline, will have to check-in and pass security at Ferihegy’s Terminal 2B instead of 2A from now until May 31. Terminal 2A at the Budapest International Airport has closed down for full reconstruction and modernization. Flight schedules and parking facilities will not be affected by the ongoing work, authorities said. Have news to share? If you know of news or events in the American Hungarian community, then please send your information to: John E. Lovász, William Penn Life, 709 Brighton Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. IVilliiim 1‘enn Lile, February 2003 9
