2000
2000
2 Jan. A cyanide spill – originating three days before in Romania where the pollutant contaminated the River Some having spilled from the Aurul mining company’s settling basins in Baia Mare – reaches the River Tisza.
17 March Heads of government of the countries neighboring Yugoslavia meet in Budapest.
8 Apr. The Prime Minister declares an emergency due to the highest floods of all time on the River Tisza.
26 May The World Federation of Hungarians elects Miklós Patrubány its president.
6 June After two unsuccessful rounds, Parliament elects Ferenc Mádl President of the Republic by 243 votes for, 96 against and 12 invalid votes.
22 June Centuries-old heat records broken in the Country: 36.3 degrees Celsius in Budapest and 35 degrees in Szeged.
22 Sept. Pope John Paul II receives President of the Republic Ferenc Mádl and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for a private audience in the Vatican to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of the Church and the 1000th anniversary of the Hungarian Nation.
5 Oct. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Foreign Minister János Martonyi visit France, presiding over the EU at the time, and negotiate with Chief of State Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.
17 Oct. Celebration held on the commencement of reconstruction on the Mária Valéria Bridge linking Esztergom with Párkány.
25 Nov. László Kovács is reelected party president during the Hungarian Socialist Party Convention.
7–11 Dec. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán participates in the European Union Summit in Nice and takes the floor on the first day. Conscious of being recorded during the following press conference, he deems the idea of taking an initial massive EU expansion off the agenda ‘encouraging’.
