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Miklos Haraszti, a former Hungarian dissident and writer, has been appointed Median Envoy to the Vienna based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe - Europe's largest security organisation. Haraszti helped found the Hungarian Democratic Opposition Movement in 1976, and edited an underground periodical in the 1980s. He also served as a member of parliament in the early 1990s, and wrote several books - some of which were published in the West but blacklisted at home until the fall of communism. Sándor Laczkó of Radio Budapest asked

Experts and human rights advocates have been gathering in Slovakia this week to consider Europe's future - and what the continent's next objective might be, after the current wave of enlargement ends. The 'Towards a wider Europe' conference has been talking about what will happen with countries which border the EU after it enlarges - such as those from the Balkans or from around the Black Sea area. The issue of security has been high on the agenda...

Across the border from Slovakia, in Hungary, the Slovak Roma problems are being closely followed. Many are asking, could similar riots happen in Hungary? Petra Hajdu of Radio Budapest spoke to Angela Kocze - head of the European Roma information office in Brussels.

Russia's Central Election Commission has allowed more than 500 foreign observers to monitor the March 14th. presidential election. Half of the monitors are from the Vienna based OSCE, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The election looks like a foregone conclusion for incumbent president Vladimir Putin. Jill Zobel spoke to Nikolai Petrov from the Carnegie Center in Moscow and to Russiaa expert Gerhard Mangott, from the Austrian institute for international relations and asked them to analyse Mr Piutin's appeal to

International media, particular the British tabloids, have been focussing on Slovakia's Roma minority following recent riots in the East of the country. Reporting has ranged from the xenophobic - raising fears that Slovak Roma would emigrate en-masse after EU enlargement - to reports focussing on the plight of the Roma and discrimination against them. Our own Martina Grenova from Radio Slovakia International has been in Eastern Slovakia with the international media.

Poland currently has some of Europe's most restrictive abortion legislation. But that may be about to change. The ruling Social Democratic Left Alliance - the SLD - is present a new bill to Parliament which they say will protect a woman's right to decide about parenthood. Agnieska Bielawska reports.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg this week raised concerns that candidate countries to the EU were not doing enough to meet EU standards and fight corruption. In its last monitoring report before May 1, when 10 countries join the EU, the assembly said there was «still a big gap in ... implementation and enforcement in important areas.» Slovenia is trying to bridge that gap. It's signed up to the Additional Protocol to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption. Ksenija Samardzija Matul from Radio Slovenia International has more.

A Polish vodka maker has been putting to the test the old adage that alcohol loosens the tongue, by offering customers a free English language course with each bottle. But what was an attempt to boost vodka sales has given Polmos Zielona Gora company with a headache. The government's Agency for Solving Alcohol Problems has accused the firm, of inducing young people to drink through questionable marketing practices.

Enlargement of the European Union is now just under 2 months away. Many in 10 accession countries see their entry into the EU on 1 May as an historic opportunity, hard won after years of social and economic reforms. But Czechs are curious about how their country will fare financially in the EU. Will the Czech Republic be a net beneficiary from the Union's budget?

Since 1998, the European Commission has been running a communication offensive to tell Slovak's what to expect when they're in the EU. But now that enlargement is just around the corner, the task of telling people about the EU has been passed to a newly opened government Euro Info Center.