Conscientious objection a hot topic in Slovakia
27.5.2005 - Katarina Richterova

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. But what about doctors who oppose abortions but work in hospitals that perform them? In Slovakia, a treaty between the state and the Holy See on the Right to Exercise Objection of Conscience has been causing uproar among many citizens. But in the process of solving the problem of rights and respecting one's beliefs, where should the line be drawn?

The director of one of the largest hospitals in Bratislava confirms that their hospital doesn't perform abortions, the right of every woman granted by the constitution:

"This is how we have been doing it for many years. If a woman wants to get an abortion, there are many other hospitals she can go to."

Yes, but this is not the only case in which a hospital has issued such a ban. For example the hospitals in the big Slovak towns of Trnava and Nitra have the same policy: they too refuse to perform abortions, on the grounds of conscientious objection.

So while on one hand a woman has the right to decide whether or not she wants to abort her pregnancy, on the other doctors also have the right to their beliefs. But when does exercising one's rights limit another person's rights? Slovakia has decided to resolve this deadlock by means of a treaty with the Vatican. A prepared treaty on conscientious objection has led to a great deal of debate in Slovakia in recent weeks.

Representing voices against the treaty are many NGOs including the pro choice organisation. Their chairwoman Olga Pietruchova says they are strongly against it because ...

"Treaty with the Holy See gives more rights to citizens of Slovakia who are Catholics, or who agree with catholic teachings."

The pro choice organisation goes even further - it suspects the real thinking behind the proposed treaty lies elsewhere, and it is not just a question of respecting the conscience of doctors. Olga Pietruchova:

"We noticed since couple of years an effort of Christian Democrats to cut access of women to reproductive rights services, particularly to abortion, sexual education, etc. In our opinion this treaty should be a legal way of how to refuse to provide those services to women in Slovakia."

NGOs are unsatisfied with the fact that the Slovak Republic is making a deal with the Vatican, saying the treaty would override all Slovak legislation. As Richard Fides, spokesperson for the Justice Ministry, which is preparing the treaty says:

"This treaty will only name areas in which legislation will set rules for exercising objection of conscience."

And those should be health care, military service, education and law. So in practice this means if you decide to exercise your conscientious objection and not work on a Sunday, against your boss's will you will most probably get fired. Then you can go to court challenging the lay off under the current legislation, in this case the labour code.

In the already fragile coalition there is strong disagreement over the treaty, with the Christian Democrats - who are proposing it - clashing with the liberal New Citizen's Alliance. As their deputy Eva Cerna says:

"Even today without this agreement signed there are doctors who to refuse to perform abortions, on the basis of a gentlemen's agreement, which is applied at most work places. We strongly believe Slovakia doesn't need this kind of law. I dare say Slovaks have been using their conscience up till now."

As Cerna claims, the prepared treaty is the result of some very unfavourable agreements that were signed with the Vatican in the last election period.

The prepared treaty has raised concern also in the European Parliament. Fifty-four MEPs have sent a letter to the Slovak prime minister requesting him to review the document once again.

"I was a little surprised by the letter. It comes from false information provided by certain Slovak NGOs. No one has asked me for an explanation, or for my opinion to this treaty. I consider this letter as interfering with internal Slovak issues and creating an unfriendly atmosphere among Slovak citizens."

Reacts Anna Zaborska, a Slovak MEP and chairwoman of the gender equality and women's rights committee in Brussels.

A lot of different views on a document that has not even been proposed to parliament. On one hand there is strong concern over the possible misuse of the treaty, its contradicting the EU non-discrimination policy and a big question as to whether Slovakia is a secular country. On the other hand it is something that Slovakia had committed to signing in previous treaties with the Vatican, a treaty similar to those many countries have with the Holy See. What will happen if everyone exercises their right to conscientious objection? No more abortions, open supermarkets on Sundays, or financial benefits for the substitute workers? These are just some of the questions it raises.

Why do most Czechs regard early 90s voucher privatisation as unfair?
27.5.2005 - Ian Willoughby

The Czech president Vaclav Klaus has just signed a new law making it easier for majority owners of companies to acquire the shares of small shareholders. Ironically Mr Klaus himself is the reason why the Czech Republic has such a large number of small shareholders in the first place.

In the early 1990s, when still finance minister, it was Mr Klaus who introduced an unprecedented voucher privatization scheme. Thousands of companies were privatised after four decades of communism, by virtually giving away shares to citizens. At the time the scheme seemed to many like a dream come true, but today many Czechs feel cheated and say the process was grossly misused.

Jan Schiesser: "The idea was relatively simple - give people vouchers and basically through the vouchers buy shares. It was a decision to employ a very quick and relatively simple way to sell the state property."

Analyst Jan Schiesser explains the essence of the voucher privatisation system, which was launched in 1992. At the time it was a novel idea born out of the necessity to return to a market economy. But not many people made any real money, with sometimes dubious investment funds taking advantage of people's inexperience and making a killing. Polls suggest three quarters of Czechs now believe the system was unfair.

"The problem is I think what happened after the coupon privatisation, with a couple of investment funds being tunnelled, or assets being siphoned out of these investment funds, with minority shareholders being squeezed out in a very non-transparent way and very unfair way from companies."

But perhaps it was not just small shareholders who learnt about capitalism the hard way. Jaroslava Moserova is a former presidential candidate.

"There were many mistakes made of course, all of us were inexperienced new members of parliament. We were not used to power; we didn't know what power we had. And many steps were taken too quickly, too many laws were introduced without proper rules of fair play. And of course when suddenly there is freedom it's the less honest who know how to use it or misuse it. That's what caused so many mistakes, such great losses for the country."

And "national character" may also have played a role in the perceived failures of voucher privatisation.

"We didn't foresee, and I don't think a member of parliament was born who could foresee the inventiveness of the dishonest Czech. Because the inventiveness of our people is admirable, is great."

And finally was the system really such a failure? Economist Jan Schiesser doesn't think so.

"From the human point of view I understand that some people might view it as a failure, because they didn't receive so much money from coupon privatisation. Or in bad cases they were basically stripped of their assets, especially in some of the investment funds. But I think ten years from now or maybe even five years from now the perception will change, people will put more emphasis on the speed, rather than the problems that arose after coupon privatisation."

Poles bring some life back to Germany's depressed regions
27.5.2005 - Iwona Lejman

The most pessimistic scenarios of Poland's membership in the European Union spoke of large numbers of foreigners buying up property in the country. As it turned out, this - and other gloomy predictions - did not materialize. In fact quite a few Poles have decided to purchase property in Germany.

The village of Wetzenau, in Pomerania in the east of Germany, where a stylish country-side house built 80 years ago for a Lutheran parson is situated, is just a 25-kilometer hop across from what used to be a tightly guarded Polish-German border. The house is going to become Tomasz Pawlik's property within days. He runs his old Polish style restaurant in Szczecin but is ready to move across the border together with his girlfriend and commute to Szczecin from their new house:

"Everybody associates our move to Germany with leaving Poland for good, but in fact our village of Wetzanau is more like a suburb of Szczecin. Our secession-style house with two old willow trees in front of it is situated in a village with only 50 inhabitants. I love the peace and quiet of the place. That's exactly what we'd been looking for. I work very hard and need a good place to rest. My fiancée Magda, who has just graduated from an arts college, will find this a perfect place to work."

Before Poland joined the EU, many people were afraid of an influx of Germans buying up land here at half the price they would pay at home. For visitors to Szczecin province, however, it is clear that the move is in totally opposite direction. Troubled by unemployment reaching 35 per cent, the region of Uecker Randow in eastern Germany is seeing an exodus of mostly young people in search of better life opportunities.

On arriving at Pasewalk, I was struck by the peace and quiet of this town of 12 thousand inhabitants. Benno Mahle of the local town hall corrected me immediately: it's not a quiet place, it's a dead place:

"It would be good to have more life. When no one lives here, everything's dead. If the Polish people settle down here, then the situation will change. We would be happy if the situation that we are in now - losing inhabitants, is stopped."

The poorest and least inhabited region, or Land, in eastern Germany makes a huge contrast to thriving Szczecin on the Polish side of the border. This port city of almost half a million has benefited tangibly from the country's economic growth. Small wonder that there's no shortage of prosperous Poles snapping up German real estate. Apparently, significantly lower prices makes this part of Germany a house hunter's haven. Magdalena Pysz, a real estate agent from Szczecin, says she's had over seven hundred customers so far, looking to buy or rent property across the border:

"So far, we have sold nine houses - one to an English man and the rest to Polish citizens. We have also rented out fourteen flats in just five months. Four companies have also opened their businesses here. So, the interest of Polish people is enormous. The prices too are excellent."

Even though the cost of living is on average higher in Germany than in Poland, the advantages of getting a house in Germany definitely outweigh the disadvantages, says Tomasz Pawlik:

"We became interested in moving out to Germany just after joining the EU. We've always known the area where our new house is located. While going shopping to Germany we always admired the lovely buildings on our way. There are similar houses in Poland but much further away from Szczecin. Besides the price is extremely convenient - just 15, 000 euros whereas in Poland we'd have to pay around 75,000 euros. In this region, the Germans really encourage people to buy property and refund up to 40% of renovation costs, especially in cases of antique houses like mine."

For most of the people we spoke to in and around Szczecin, buying a house in Germany is not like moving to a foreign country. In a newly united Europe, the ties between Poland and Germany in this border region are so close that the frontier does not seem to exist.

Head of OSCE says 1989-style changes now spreading further east
27.5.2005 - Ian Willoughby

Migration is one of the major issues of our age, as millions of people every year attempt to escape poverty and conflict, and build a better future for their children. Migration is also one of the main themes of a conference of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe taking place all this week in Prague. The OSCE's current chairman-in-office is Slovenia's foreign minister, Dimitrij Rupel. He says that today it is devoting a lot of attention to former Soviet republics, where he sees a parallel with events further west following the fall of the Berlin Wall.

"The movement which started in central and eastern Europe is spreading, the movement is going eastwards. And whatever happened ten years ago, 15 years ago in central and eastern Europe now is happening in the Caucuses, is happening in Ukraine, is happening in central Asia.

"I have hope that through these more or less gentle repercussions conditions can mature that will make migration a...free enterprise."

One issue that's a big concern in countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia is human trafficking, because these countries are used as transit countries. Could you tell us a little bit please about the OSCE's strategy against human trafficking?

"Human trafficking is a very serious problem. Also on our borders, on the borders of the Czech Republic, on the borders of Slovenia, you are faced with these problems.

"Human trafficking stems from poverty and distress and a lack of civilisation, wellbeing, industry, technology - economy practically. If you cannot sell products you sell people.

"This is a terrible situation that we can try to stop with administrative means, but I think that more should be done in another way, with economic development."

Last week the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was in Prague and he insists that the seven-year transition period for the free movement of labour will have to stand, that Czechs and Slovenians and so on won't be able to work in Germany until 2011. Many Czechs resent the fact that they can't work in most EU countries - how is that issue perceived in Slovenia?

"If I tried to be funny I would say that we hope to have a different government in Germany. But of course this is a more serious matter. I hope that the seven-year transition period will not stand, there is no need for that. And as we have heard today from the German politician Rita Sussmuth the so-called modern, developed Europe needs assistance from other countries.

"It is treating the new members of the European Union as secondary citizens, and certainly in Slovenia this has not been well received. We still have to explain to our citizens that this is something that will pass.

"In fact our people do not have tremendous problems in finding employment if they want in Italy or Austria, our neighbouring countries. But still, in principle it's wrong."

European study on living and working conditions presented in Ljubljana
27.5.2005 - Ksenija Samardzija-Matul

The European Foundation for the improvement of Living and Working Conditions monitors and reports on living conditions and quality of life in Europe. The foundation has been trying to find out more about quality of life in 28 countries - the 25 EU member states and three candidate countries, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

The acting director of the Foundation, Willy Buschak, presented the results for Slovenia at a seminar, which was held in Ljubljana this week.

The survey examined a range of issues, such as employment, education, housing, family life, health and life satisfaction. The results draw on Eurobarometer surveys and 26.000 people in the 28 participating countries were asked, this means an average of 1000 people per country. The economic and social divide between the 10 new EU member states and the former EU 15 is not clear-cut. Nevertheless, the material differences between old, new and potential Member States are greater than in previous EU enlargements. But as Willy Buschak pointed out at a press conference in Ljubljana Slovenia is a quite positive example:

"The overall figure for Slovenia, comparing Slovenia in a European context is quite positive and quite a nice story over large parts. We have asked people for example what is your medium income your family income per month and the figure for Slovenia is 757 Euros, which is far ahead of all the other new member states. In many aspects our survey says Slovenia compares with countries like France and like Belgium."

However the standards of quality of life in Slovenia are far from ideal and there is still a number of people who are deprived of annual holidays for example:

"And again Slovenia compares very well with France, Belgium and the old member states- the figure of Slovenians who cannot afford a week's annual holiday is 24% but that is within a European context absolutely normal and absolutely average."

But what is even more frustrating for 8 % of Slovenians is that they have difficulties in making ends meet, which means that they are occasionally or often unable to pay their bills. The older generation over the age of 65 complains that in comparison to the younger generations their quality of life is less good. And where do Slovenians see the greatest conflict in society?

"Speaking of potential conflicts within society the biggest potential source of conflict for Slovenians in a European context is the conflict between management of labour."

Maybe somehow surprising is the fact that in general Slovenians seem to be more optimistic about the future than the inhabitants of other European countries:

"They are however much more optimistic than all the other Europeans, I think 75% of the Slovenes have said we are looking quite optimistic into the future."

If a small number of 1,000 people per country are participating in such a survey then the result can only be a general profile of a country's inhabitants. Such a survey does not allow deeper insight into certain groups, such as single parent families or immigrants or certain aspects of life. The best feature of this survey is certainly that it gives objective and subjective information on the major viewpoints on the quality of life.

EC school e-twinning project enjoying growing popularity in Hungary
27.5.2005 - Agi Varga

Primary and secondary school children from 25 European countries, including Hungary, have been keen on finding partnerships in schools on the continent. To make this process easier, an e-twinning project was launched by the European Commission at the beginning of this year as part of the e-learning programme, to give the opportunity for schools to learn from and with each other and to make friends; all this using modern information and communication technology.

The Hungarian coordinator of the project, Marta Snopek, told Radio Budapest how it has been faring in Hungary:

"The e-twinning project can be defined as a long-term partnership, where at least two schools from at least two different European countries use information and communication tools to work on a project together."

How has it been received in Hungary?

"Well, there is quite a significant interest from Hungarian teachers. The programme started in January and we already have more than two hundred schools registered and about twenty-five of them already work together with European partner schools. There is, for example, a partnership between a Hungarian school and an Icelandic school and the title of their project is Water and Fire and it's basically on geo-thermal energy and its uses. Another partnership between a Hungarian and an Italian school focuses on Hungarian and Italian cuisine and a third partnership called The Beauty of a Small River is between a school in Hungary and one in Latvia. So, there is a great variety of European countries, as well as subjects."

These children use information technology. So does that mean that they have to be IT literate?

"To some extent 'yes' but neither the students nor the teachers have to be ITC experts. That is not necessary. But they obviously have to be able to use some of these tools to some extent, such as the Internet, e-mail, and chat."

What language do they communicate in?

"That's their choice. It depends on what language they speak and what language is spoken by their partner school. It tends to be English but it can be any other language. There is a Hungarian school, for example, where the group of students taking part in this project study Italian and they can set up a partnership with an Italian school and co-operate in Italian. It really is their free choice."

What is the advantage of such a project? How does it differ from other school partnership programmes?

"What is different from other school partnership projects is the role and use of ICT, which this project is based on. What this entails is that it improves the ICT skills of teachers and students."

Is there any possibility for the students to meet their partners in person?

"Of course there is always the possibility but this is not an integral part of the project. These partnerships that are formed within the framework of e-twinning are often (or will hopefully be) long-term partnerships. So, meeting in person is probably an inevitable part."

You have launched a competition. What is it exactly?

"There will be two competitions. One of them is an international competition - for more details visit the European portal at www.etwinning.net. The best partnerships are awarded with very nice prizes. The first prize is a meeting of the school partners in a European city of their choice. There will also be a national competition with prizes to help the e-twinning groups to travel to their partners and meet in person."