In Austria legislation on work and residence permits is being harmonised. The bill amending the law on establishment and residence was submitted to Parliament for review on 23 March 2005. Every person legally residing in Austria will also be granted the right to work. Excluded are asylum seekers and people not wishing to work in Austria, e.g. retired persons or spouses of foreign students.
The Amendment also includes an “Integration Agreement” providing for longer German courses (300 instead of 100 lessons) for immigrants. Literacy programmes are offered to illiterate people. Moreover, every new immigrant has to attend citizenship courses (of a total of 30 hours). Persons failing to attend these courses may be expelled from Austria only after five years (previously four years).
People who lived in Austria for five years and complied with the Integration Agreement are entitled to seek employment in the entire EU.
The costs of literacy programmes are in general borne by the Republic of Austria. 50% of the costs of German courses of immigrants coming to Austria for the purpose of family reunification are assumed (as in the past), but only during the first two years. As far as dependent employees are concerned, the employer and the immigrant will share the expenses.
Minister of the Interior Liese Prokop referred to the Amendment as an important step towards the integration of immigrants. She stressed that this was the first time that work and residence requirements were harmonised. ■

Israel’s new Ambassador to Austria, Dan Ashbel, described the relations between Israel and Austria as “greatly improved”. In an interview with the daily “Kurier“ on 12 March 2005, he stated that the way had been paved for starting really serious work.
It was his aim to continue intensifying relations and to involve both politicians and the public. Ashbel also wanted to promote bilateral trade, notably in technology and tourism.
On 14 March 2005 Ashbel presented his credentials to Austria’s President Heinz Fischer at his seat at Hofburg (Vienna). On this occasion Fischer reminded of the establishment of relations between Austria and Israel 56 years ago: “We have come a long way. We are in a good phase and that’s how things should remain.” The President asked Ashbel to convey his “most cordial regards” to Israel’s President Moshe Katsav, whose official visit to Austria last October had been “very successful”. ■

The remaining assets of the Austrian Reconciliation Fund (ÖVF) of 94 to 96 million euro should inter alia be used for humanitarian projects and scholarships. This was stated in the recently published mid-year report of the ÖVF unanimously approved by the Main Committee of Nationalrat (First Chamber of Parliament) on 3 March 2005.
The deadline for new applications had ended on 31 December 2003, but exceptions were admitted for excusable reasons.
With effect 20 December 2004, payments totalling 349.6 million euro had been made to 130,773 former forced and slave labourers of the NS regime. Out of this total of approved applications, 101,969 applications (237.2 million euro) had been filed by the six partner organisations (Ukraine, Poland, Russian Federation, Czech Republic, Belarus, Hungary). 28,804 applications (with a volume of 96.1 million euro) concerned individuals.
The ÖVF had been set up in 2000 and endowed with 436 million euro. The voluntary payments have been and are being made by the Republic of Austria to former forced and slave labourers of the NS regime on the territory of present-day Austria. The Fund will be dissolved with effect 31 December 2005. ■

The Federal Act on Equal Treatment of the Handicapped passed the Council of Ministers on 8 March 2005. Its objective is to ensure equal treatment of people with handicaps in all walks of life. All new buildings erected after 1 January 2006 have to be barrier-free. ■

At their traditional Spring Summit meeting in Brussels (23/24 March 2005), the 25 EU heads of state and government adopted a new action programme to stimulate economic activity in Europe, including a reform of the EU Stability and Growth Pact as well as the promotion of research, education and innovation. The EU leaders also agreed on a fundamental revision of the controversial Services Directive. According to the summit conclusions, “national services markets should be opened to competition while preserving the European social model”. The Union expects this package to create six million additional jobs.
A compromise was reached concerning the climate protection targets. Under the Kyoto Protocol, the greenhouse gas emissions of all industrial nations should be reduced by 15 to 30% in the commitment period ending in 2020.
On the initiative of Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and Slovakia an agreement was reached to form a task force to examine the cooperation of Croatia with the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague. This is a sine qua non of the EU for starting accession negotiations with Croatia.
Federal Chancellor Schüssel showed himself satisfied about the results of the summit and described the revamped Stability Pact as a “reasonable approach” preventing a softening of the Stability Pact by upholding the rules. If the general deficit limit of 3% of the GDP was exceeded for a short period in pursuing the growth and employment strategy, a “European and thus national value-added” could be created, said Schüssel. ■

During his formal visit to Paris on 17 March 2005, Austrian Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel highlighted the fact that Austria and France shared a common view, notably on EU issues. The official talks with French State President Jaques Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin focused on the EU, economic issues and the international situation. The leaders agreed to strengthen “political dialogue” at bilateral level. Schüssel invited the French President to pay a visit to Austria on the occasion of the Austrian EU Presidency in the first six months of 2006. ■

Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel met with German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder for official talks in Vienna on 18 March 2005. The two heads of governments stated that they wanted to adhere to the EU Stability and Growth Pact in general, but called for a flexible interpretation under specific economic conditions. Both sides described the bilateral relations as “exemplary”. ■

Austria’s Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik paid an official visit to Asia between 24 and 28 March 2005. She visited Thailand and the Kingdom of Bhutan, a prioritised region of the “Austrian Development Cooperation” (Entwicklungszusammenarbeit / EZA). During a brief meeting with Thailand’s newly appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs Kantathi Suphamongkhon in Bangkok, Plassnik stressed that Austria would continue supporting Thailand in its reconstruction efforts.
In Bhutan, the main destination of her trip to Asia, Austria’s Foreign Minister was received by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk and conducted talks with the country’s political leadership. A top item on the meeting agenda were the bilateral relations. Bhutan is a priority of EZA in Asia. Cooperation focuses on the energy and tourist sectors as well as the preservation of the cultural heritage.
Together with Prime Minister Lyonpo Jigme Thinley, Plassnik inaugurated the last stage of the Basochhu hydroelectric power station. The power plant is the largest EZA project and has been developed in cooperation with the Austrian export industry. The Foreign Minister’s programme also included a visit to the fortress and monastery Trongsa Dzong, one of the most important historic buildings of Bhutan, which had recently been renovated with the technical and financial support of Austria. ■

“The human factor is the most important factor in our society”, said Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel at the social partners’ symposium “More growth and employment in Europe? Five years after the Lisbon strategy” in Vienna on 18 March 2005. Stronger economic growth as an important basis for more jobs also required more investment in research and development. Austria – which has previously been “lagging behind” – still had to improve. The goal of achieving a 3% research and development ratio in terms of the GDP must be emphasised, said the Federal Chancellor.
Schüssel also called for “some flexibility” regarding additional European objectives, while the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact should be adhered to. As additional objectives created a “national value-added”, additional expenditure, e.g. on research and development, should be taken into account in budget assessment. Spending exceeding the 3-percent-deficit limit should be tolerable for a short period, explained Schüssel. “Then the European value-added will become a national value-added”, he stressed. ■

ÖVP-Wirtschaftsbund (the interest group of entrepreneurs of the People’s Party) with top candidate Christoph Leitl, has become the clear winner of the elections of the Economic Chamber Austria (WKÖ) ending on 15 March 2005. The ÖVP group succeeded in defending its absolute majority in all nine chambers of the federal provinces and in strengthening its two-thirds majority. A success was also scored by the Social Democrats (Sozialdemokratischer Wirtschaftsverband/SWV) outstripping the Freedomites (Ring Freiheitlicher Wirtschaftstreibender/RFW) and by the Greens (Grüne Wirtschaft) competing for the first time at national level. Christoph Leitl will remain WKÖ President. The election turnout dropped from 53.5% in 2000 to 48%. Preliminary election result (at federal level): ÖWB: 71.8% /7,234 seats; SWV: 10.8 %/1,093; RFW: 9.5%/961; Greens: 2.5%/252; Liste Industrie: 4.1%/416; nominal and branch lists: 1.2 %/126. ■

“The highly successful Styrian automotive cluster ACStyria could serve as a model for Slovakia. Austria and Slovakia have a chance to create new jobs in the automotive sector“, said Minister for Economics and Labour Martin Bartenstein on 16 March 2005 after paying a bilateral visit to his Slovak counterpart Pavol Rusko in Bratislava.
Slovakia was on its way to become the world’s largest car producer per capita. Hence, the automotive industry had been ranking high on the agenda, said Bartenstein. ACStyria was planning a South Eastern European network of car components suppliers. In the first phase Austrian enterprises should be provided with an information system. The Slovakian Minister of Economic Affairs did not rule out the possibility of establishing a logistics centre.
With a trade volume of 3.2 billion euro, Slovakia was “a really important neighbour in terms of trade” recording a marked upward trend, stressed Bartenstein. With an investment volume of 1.4 billion euro so far, Austria is the third largest investor in Slovakia. ■

According to a study of the Bertels¬mann Foundation, Austria maintained its favourable position in a comparison of international business locations, while Germany had managed to catch up. In a “location check” to be published in April Austria again ranked 12th in the so-called “activity index” covering 21 industrial nations. In the economic growth and employment index Austria was ousted from the 7th to the 8th rank by Canada.
In the first “International Location Index“ presented by the Bertelsmann Foundation in autumn 2004, Austria’s unemployment rate of 4.4% on average had been praised as “excellent”. Other positive facts outlined were that unemployed people quickly found new jobs and that there were low long-term and youth unemployment rates. The Austrian system of dismissal protection was found to be quite exemplary. The study also made favourable mention of wage restraint. ■

On 15 March 2005 the new museum of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial was inaugurated in Jerusalem. High-ranking international guests – among them UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, numerous state presidents and ministers – participated in the event. Austria was represented by Secretary of State for Arts and Media Franz Morak on behalf of Federal President Heinz Fischer. In a speech delivered at the festive session “Remembering the Past, Shaping the Future“ Morak referred to the “tragic involvement of many Austrians in the Shoa“, which had started in March 1938, when Austria ceased to exist as a state after the invasion of Hitler’s Germany. Picking up the thread of Elie Wiesel’s statement “Memory is our fortune, our only fortune“ Morak said that Austria considered the new museum also a mandate “to pass on the heritage of the Shoa from generation to generation“. In cooperation with Yad Vashem, Austria has been conducting a basic and advanced training programme with teachers and pedagogues since 2000, which continuously set “novel standards in the confrontation with the Shoa“. Finally, Morak mentioned the co-operation with the National Fund of the Republic of Austria and the contributions of private donators to the Memorial and stressed that Yad Vashem “reminded of what we have to do to create a more just and democratic society“. ■

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn described the Viennese Catholic Irene Harand (1900-1975) as a “prophetic voice“ against anti-Se¬mitism and racism. Her book “Sein Kampf – Antwort an Hitler“, which she had published by herself and at her own expense in 1935, was the subject of a marathon reading at Vienna’s Archiepiscopal Palace on 12 March 2005, the anniversary of the “annexation” of Austria to Hitler Germany in 1938. In the reading staged on the occasion of the new edition published by Franz Richard Reiter more than 100 personalities of religious communities (e.g. Chief Rabbi Paul Chaim Eisenberg), the cultural sphere and journalism participated. The reading under the image of Christ pierced by the Hitler Youth in 1938 was transmitted live on a video screen at Stephansplatz and on the Internet by the ORF.
Irene Harand’s book had been publicly burnt in Salzburg after the “annexation”. The author, who had founded the “Harand Movement” as a “global movement against racial hatred and human need” in 1933 together with the lawyer and politician Moriz Zalman (killed at the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in 1940) escaped arrest as she was staying in Paris and London in March 1938 to drum up support for Austria’s independence with the approval of the regime of the corporative state. Later she lived in New York, co-founded the emigrants’ organisation “Austrian Forum” and prepared the emigration of numerous Austrian Jews to the USA. After 1945 Harand participated in the establishment and promotion of cultural relations between Austria and the USA and also founded the “Austrian Institute” in New York. In 1969 the Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel paid homage to Irene Harand as a “Righteous Among the Nations“. ■

12 March 2005 was also the date on which the large-scale project in the public space “25 peaces” – commemorating a dramatic period in Vienna’s history – was launched in the framework of the 2005 anniversary celebrations. At Vienna’s Heldenplatz the equestrian statues of Prinz Eugen and Archduke Karl were for example “walled in” with slabs and brick structures. During the last years of WWII the statues had been protected against bombs (splinters) in large brick cubes. This installation and a huge gravestone with the inscription “To the victims of National Socialism” put up behind the balcony of Hofburg where Hitler had the crowd cheer him in 1938 can be seen until 8 May 2005. Light and sound installations at Stephansplatz, Neuer Markt and Albertinaplatz are to remind of the horrors of the war and the bombing of Vienna on 12 March 1945. ■

In the “Year of Commemoration 2005“ the Technical Museum Vienna (TMW) presents the the special exhibition “Reconstruction and the Marshall Plan“. The spotlight is on the economic and technical development in Austria from 1945 to 1955. Between 1948 and 1952 about 13 billion US dollars were allocated to the budgets of Austria and 16 other European states under the Marshall Plan named after the then US Foreign Secretary George C. Marshall. Austria was the country receiving most funds after Iceland and the Netherlands. To date the ERP (European Recovery Program) Fund offers loans at favourable interest rates to the Austrian economy. A comprehensive programme accompanying the show is targeted at school children, families, individuals and senior citizens. ■

“Nature’s Wisdom“ is the motto of the first world exhibition of the 21st century in Aichi (Japan) running until 25 September 2005. 15 million visitors are expected to attend the exposition on a surface of 187 hectares near Nagoya. The highlight of the Austrian Pavilion designed by Hermann Dort and Klaus Baumgartner – the “Trecolore Architects“ from Carinthia – is a kind of wood sculpture: “The Slope“. It is an outstanding example of the Austrian art of wood carving and provides a platform for different events like concerts, shows and presentations. Sleighs serve as seats but can also be used for going down the slope. In the section “The Art of Living” Austria concentrates on “music”, “wood” and “healthy life”. In line with the motto, the Austrian Pavilion is to have a calmative effect on its visitors, conveying the impression of smelling hay meadows, moss and fir needles and feeling the cold of an ice bar on a glacier. The abstract depiction of a mountain range bathed in blue light on the front of the Austrian Pavilion is a work by Herbert Brandl. ■

Wolf In der Maur, the former editor-in-chief and manager of the newspaper “Presse“, ORF radio and TV director died aged 81 on 17 March 2005. Born in Klagenfurt in 1924, he had been active in Carinthia since 1945 as a reporter, stage director and foreign correspondent for Austrian and German dailies. He also published trade and plant journals. After retiring from the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), he worked as a consultant for the enterprise. He issued the series of publications “kurz & bündig“, which partly appeared also in Slovenian language. The liberal thinker and writer, who was for example highly appreciated by Bruno Kreisky, authored numerous books like “Die französische Revolution“, “Die Zigeuner“ and “Der Balkan“. Jointly with Günther Nenning, he founded Österreichische Journalisten Club, Austria’s largest journalists’ organisation without party and trade union affiliations (with currently about 3,000 members). His comprehensive knowledge and open-mindedness made Wolf In der Maur a leading personality in Austria’s media history of the Second Republic. He made a major contribution to modernising the ORF. Secretary of State for the Arts and Media Franz Morak was deeply moved by the death of Wolf In der Maur: “In his journalistic career spanning several decades he set new standards for high-quality journalism and decisively co-shaped Austria’s media landscape. His work was characterised by far-sightedness, circumspection and intelligence. With Wolf in der Maur, Austria loses a great journalist and media man“. ■

Her film “Hotel” won the Viennese Jessica Hausner the Diagonale prize and the Thomas Pluch Script Prize. Receiving the Youth Jury’s Prize as well as the Thomas Pluch Script Promotion Prize for “Echos“, Michael Ramsauer became also double winner. The Prize for Innovative Cinema went to Gerhard Friedl for “Hat Wolff von Amerongen Konkursdelikte begangen?“. At the ceremony concluding the Diagonale festival Secretary of State for the Arts and Media Franz Morak presented the film prizes of the Federal Chancellery, inter alia an award in appreciation of the work of Mara Mattuschka. ■

The Israeli writer Amos Oz and the Austrian author Kathrin Röggla were awarded the “Bruno Kreisky Prize for the political book 2004” of the Renner Institute in Vienna on 14 March 2005. Oz received the award for his novel “A Tale of Love and Darkness“, in which he partly describes his family history against the background of the political history of the state of Israel. In 1933 he had emigrated with his parents from Odessa (Ukraine) to Jerusalem, became increasingly aware of the horrors of the Holocaust during WWII and spent some years of his life as a pioneer in a kibbuz. Röggla was granted the award for her novel “Wir schlafen nicht“, which is based on recorded conversations mainly with business consultants – “horror visions and models“ (Röggla) – and addresses “exploitation and self-exploitation” in today’s work environment. ■

The research team of university professor Dr. Erika Jensen-Jarolim of Vienna Medical University at the General Hospital was named the winner of the “Award for European Allergy Research“ for its finding that the intake of gastric acid inhibitors can provoke food allergies. In a three-month clinical study on about 200 patients the team cooperating with experts from Germany and Hungary succeeded in producing evidence that the blood concentrations of allergy-inducing IgE antibodies increased following the intake of gastric acid inhibitors. More than one in every ten patients developed a completely new food allergy during the study. The team of Jensen-Jarolim at the Institute for Pathophysiology of Vienna Medical University has done absolutely pioneering work. There are more findings indicating that digestion protects against allergies. Jensen-Jarolim: “If a protein is digested easily it is considered non-allergy-inducing. We showed that a harmless protein that is not digested may become a potent allergen“. According to the studies from Vienna, anti-ulcer drugs (H2 blockers, Antazida and proton pump blockers) may contribute to the development of allergies. Jensen-Jarolim: “If there is too little acid the stomach loses its ‘gate-keeping function’.” Then the proteins would not be digested but more immunoglobulin E would be developed involving the risk of an allergy. This has been supported by the findings of a follow-up study by Hungarian researchers. ■

Bernardo Bellotto is considered one of the protagonists of veduta painting, the topographically accurate reproduction of urban panoramas. This special form of landscape painting was created in Venice in the 18th century. Bellotto was named “Canaletto" after his uncle and teacher Antonio Canal, the master of this genre. Working in numerous Italian cities, he left his native city Venice in 1747 and moved to Dresden, where Elector Frederick August II. appointed him court painter. And this was how Venetian veduta painting came to Central Europe. Canaletto worked in Vienna in the late 1750s, where he had been commissioned paintings by Empress Maria Theresa, e.g. the famous work today shown at the gallery of the Museum of Art History (KHM) “Vienna viewed from the Belvedere Palace“. From 1767 to his death in 1780 he was the court painter of King Stanislaw August Poniatowski of Poland in Warsaw. As the Royal Palace in Warsaw is currently being restored, it became for the first time in history possible to bring Canaletto’s veduta paintings – usually not loaned – to Vienna. The KMH show is supported by wonderful exhibits from the National Museum in Warsaw, from St. Petersburg, Dresden, Budapest, Dublin, London, Milan, Turin, Venice, Washington, Vienna’s Albertina and private collectors. ■

This year’s International Baroque Days held at the Monastery of Melk during the Whitsun holidays from 13 to 16 May are dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the birthday of Giacomo Carissimi, to Orazio Benevoli and the 300th anniversary of the death of Emperor Leopold I. As usual, the festival offers outstanding baroque ensembles like Gèrard Lesne and his Seminario musicale (Händel), René Clemencic (music at Vienna’s imperial court), I Fagiolini (madrigal comedy), Neue Hofkapelle München (Francesco Conti) and Reinhard Goebels Musica Antiqua (e.g. Gallo). ■

17 VIPs from the economic and political arenas had become mentors of 18 sport talents last year: IPM General Manager A. Niyazi Türesin Türesin of the young swimming talent Nina Dittrich, ÖOC President Leo Wallner of the beach volleyball player Madita Knöppel and Secretary of State Karl Schweitzer of the Austria’s rising star in running Lisa Leutner, to mention but a few. At the first anniversary of the programme celebrated at Lusthaus in Vienna’s Prater, Sporthilfe Manager Toni Schutti presented a new partner. Jörg Pribil, Managing Director of Nokia in Austria and in Switzerland, will support the snowboarding hope Manuel Bernert in the framework of the mentoring programme. The successful programme offers financial aid – the 18 fine young talents were granted a total of 62,500 euro – and provides a strong incentive to the personal career of athletes. ■

“We use the first third of our lives to earn money, and in the second third of our lives we try to recover the health lost so as to be able to enjoy the last third“, as the saying goes. This sad state of affairs motivated the Federal Sport Organisation (Bundes-Sportorganisation/BSO) and the Federal Chancellery/Secretariat of State for Sports to launch the campaign “Fit for Austria“. The funds earmarked for this campaign make it possible to implement concepts convincing more people of health-oriented sport and a conscious lifestyle. As the campaign raises public awareness, it also supports the targeted work performed at the highest level of quality – mainly on a honorary basis – in thousands of Austrian sport associations under the umbrella organisations ASKÖ, ASVÖ and SPORTUNION in the interest of health prevention. In few days the motivated staff of the umbrella organisations will be familiarised with the campaign programmes in “Fit for Austria“ workshops. This will ensure that a uniform philosophy is conveyed even to the smallest units of organised sport all over Austria. The quality seal “Fit for Austria“, which is awarded to sport associations for high-quality, health-oriented sport programmes, will also be a valuable selection tool for consumers, notably newcomers. Health-oriented exercise programmes marked with the seal have to meet seven quality criteria. To safeguard this high level of quality, BSO and the umbrella organisations will offer basic and advanced training programmes. ■

The 25th European Table Tennis Championship taking place in Aarhus (Denmark) from 27 March to 3 April 2005 could become Austria’s most successful championship. The best result the Alpine Republic achieved in the past was at Courmayeur in 2003 with two gold medals as well as one silver and one bronze medal. This time there is a realistic chance for medals in all seven competitions (team, singles and doubles as well as mixed doubles). At the beginning of the European Championship team competition, the ÖTTV women won a superior victory (3:1) over Belarus, but lost in the quarterfinals against Slovenia (2:3). The two scores of Austria were made by Liu Jia, placed tenth in the global ranking. Rank eight has so far been the best European Championship result ever achieved by an ÖTTV women’s team.
The ÖTTV men’s team has already earned a medal. Werner Schlager, Chen Weixing and Robert Gardos won 3:0 victories both in the eighth-finals against France and in the quarterfinals against Russia. This is the second ÖTTV team medal after bronze in Zagreb in 2002. ■