On the occasion of Austria’s national holiday on 26 October, the Federal Government convened a special session of the Council of Ministers. In his traditional speech Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel focused on the “success model Europe“. The EU Constitution to be signed in Rome on 29 October 2004 was the “climax of the successful development of the peace project Europe“, said Schüssel.
Europe’s success was based on the same foundations as Austria’s success after WWII. The European Union guaranteed its Member States freedom and equality, and the European Constitution was a binding commitment to these values. It was “not an unrealistic project“, but a “Constitution for the citizens of Europe“, stressed the Federal Chancellor. Social market economy, full employment, cultural diversity, environmental protection as well as sustainability were for the first time formulated as common objectives. The basic rights were for the first time laid down in a charter. “They are not hollow promises, they are enforceable before the European Court of Justice“, explained Schüssel. Austria had left its mark. The issue of water and community services was still “under Austrian control”. The protection of ethnic minorities and animal protection were also firmly enshrined in the Constitution Treaty.
The Federal Chancellor showed himself optimistic about a new Austrian Constitution which is being drafted by the Austria Convention. “The work is difficult but we are making much progress”, stated Schüssel.
In his speech the Federal Chancellor also drew attention to “important anniversaries” and celebrations in the Jubilee Year 2005 (e.g. 60th anniversary of the end of WWII, 50th anniversary of the Austrian State Treaty, 10th anniversary of EU membership), which he described as the “year of defining the current position and reflecting about the future“. The celebrations should “promote a feeling of belonging together, involve and affect everybody“. Schüssel called upon all immigrants – “for whatever reason they and their families came to Austria“ – to participate in the jubilee.
According to the Federal Chancellor, the asylum issue was not limited to humanitarian aspects but also reflected the need “to identify our current position”. “It goes without saying that Austria remains a place of refuge for those who really need help, to the extent possible and in the framework of international law“. ■

The final negotiations about the cancer therapy and research centre MedAustron in Wiener Neustadt (Lower Austria) took place at the Federal Chancellery on 25 October 2004. In the subsequent press conference Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel announced the foundation of a limited liability company (GmbH). The Republic of Austria would finance the project with 41 million euro in four phases. The remaining costs of about 117 million euro for establishing MedAustron would be raised by the federal province of Lower Austria, Wiener Neustadt and private investors. There would be an invitation to tender, explained Schüssel. After completion of the centre about 400 new job vacancies would become available.
“We consider this project highly interesting because it is a project of top technology, which we firmly support. The quality of the business location Austria can be ensured only by investments in this future-oriented sector”, stressed the Federal Chancellor. This facility could become an international trendsetter and even treat foreign patients.
On the one hand, this project should offer cancer therapies previously not available in Austria. On the other hand, this technology allows precise material controls.
The radiation produced in the accelerator of MedAustron is fundamentally different from traditional methods. Relatively large particles – atomic cores or ions – are used. This would not only increase the fatal effect on tumour cells but also protect the surrounding tissue in the best possible way, informed the medical experts.
It is possible to target the rays accurately to the millimetre. Thus tumours located directly next to vital organs like the brains or the spine can also be treated. If the primary tumour is eliminated, the risk of secondary tumours (metastases) decreases. ■

The EU heads of state and government signed the first European Constitution in Rome on 29 October 2004. The Constitution Treaty will come into effect only after ratification by all Member States – either by the national parliaments or by referendum. Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and incoming Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik signed on behalf of Austria.
The festive event in Rome’s Capitol was overshadowed by the crisis over the formation of the new European Commission after EU Commission President elect Jose Manuel Durao Barroso and his team have been rejected by the European Parliament.
The EU leaders deliberated in informal meetings on the margins of the signing ceremony on possible new appointments, above all of a replacement for the Italian candidate, Rocco Buttiglione, who had resigned in the meantime.
Federal Chancellor Schüssel stated that Austria would ratify the EU Constitution by parliamentary vote in spring 2005. Schüssel praised the progress that the Treaty would mean for the further development of the European Union.
The Federal Chancellor underlined that the Austrian population would have access to the text of the Treaty before ratification through the media and at school. “This is indeed a document one can give to every European citizen“, said Schüssel. According to him, great achievements of the Constitution were the binding force of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, the further development of internal and external security and the institutional balance of powers. The principle of “one commissioner per Member State” could be upheld beyond 2014 if a majority of EU Member States voted in favour, said Schüssel. ■

Federal President Heinz Fischer arrived in Croatia’s capital Zagreb on 27 October 2004 for a one-day official visit, concluding his tour of formal calls to the heads of state of the countries neighbouring Austria. Items on his agenda were talks with Croatian President Stjepan Mesic as well as Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and President of Parliament Vladimir Seks. The talks focused on bilateral issues and Croatia’s prospects of joining the EU.
Fischer advocated a speedy accession of Croatia to the EU. “There will be a lot of support for negotiations. From the European perspective, it is only logical to admit a country like Croatia to the EU as soon as possible“, Fischer told media representatives. His host Mesic thanked Austria for its backing for Croatia’s EU membership aspirations and reiterated that General Ante Gotovina was not in Croatia, who was wanted by the UN’s International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. The cooperation of the government in Zagreb with the ICTY is a prerequisite for initiating EU accession negotiations with Croatia. ■

Macedonian Prime Minister Hari Kostov paid a visit to Vienna on 27 October 2004, where he met with Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel for official talks. The main issues discussed were bilateral economic relations and Macedonia’s efforts to join the EU.
Schüssel underlined the good relations between the two countries but also expressed his hope for closer economic cooperation. He drew attention to the improved general economic setting for investments in Macedonia and stressed that Austria was the third largest investor in this country already at the current stage.
The Federal Chancellor commented on the accession negotiations between the EU and Macedonia: “Austria supports the prospective European integration of Macedonia as well as of all the other South Eastern European countries. We will of course support Macedonia in this process that is starting now“.
Prime Minister Kostov thanked Austria for its political, financial and logistical support on Macedonia’s way towards the EU. At the same time, he emphasised the significant role Austria played in the integration efforts of the Balkan States in the process of European unification. ■

The EU Commission forecasts a real economic growth of 1.9% for Austria in the current year (after 0.8% in 2003). According to the autumn forecast of the European Commission published on 26 October 2004, this reflected the potential of the economic sector. For 2005 and 2006 the EU expects a plus of 2.4%, to which internal demand is likely to make an increasing contribution. Unemployment will, however, decrease only slightly in 2005: from 4.2 to 3.9%.
The gradual reduction of income tax is expected to have an effect on private consumption after 2005. Moreover, the available income is likely to increase also due to the growing demand on the labour market and higher nominal wages. However, the higher energy costs will curb the real purchasing power of households.
After a phase of regression, investments are likely to show a sound growth. According to the EU experts, this trend is strengthened by increasing export revenue and lower income and corporate taxes. The positive share of net exports in the gross domestic product (GDP) will probably decrease in line with the predicted slowdown of the global economy and a consolidating domestic demand.
After a minor decline over the past years, the European Commission expects a slight employment growth for 2004 and beyond. ■

Magna Steyr in Graz will produce both the Touring and Sedan versions of Chrysler C-300 for DaimlerChrysler. This was announced by Magna Europe CEO Siegfried Wolf and Chrysler Austria manager Brenda Müllner at a press conference at the plant in Graz on 27 October 2004. No details about the number of units produced and production periods were provided. The “vehicle life cycle” would range between six and seven years. As Governor of Styria Waltraud Klasnic informed, the production order would create about 650 new jobs.
After the sales of the vehicle boomed in the USA, the Chrysler model is now expected to conquer the European market.
The production kick-off has been scheduled for June 2005. The model, which in the past has exclusively been built in Canada, would be produced in Graz for the markets outside America, explained Müllner. Magna Steyr will launch production of the Chrysler C-300 Touring and Sedan editions – including left-hand and right-hand drive versions, the high-performance version “SRT-8” as well as the diesel-powered model – before year-end.
Magna Europe CEO Wolf stressed that the Chrysler C-300 “contained quite a bit of Graz“. The Touring edition would for example be equipped with the all-wheel drive technolo¬gy of Magna Steyr.
Minister for Economic Affairs Martin Bartenstein described the order as a “powerful growth engine” for domestic jobs. Austria offered great advantages in terms of high quality, labourforce motivation and flexibility. The reduction of the corporate income tax from 34% to 25% as from 2005 would enhance Austria’s attractiveness as a business location, said Bartenstein. ■

The three top entrepreneurs in the trade, crafts and service sectors were named this year’s “Trio of the Year” in Vienna on 27 October 2004. The first place in the category “trade” went to the Innsbruck-based company Johann Rathgeber GmbH Formen und Werkzeugbau, in the category “crafts” to Weba Werkzeugbau Betriebs GmbH in Dietach (Upper Austria) and in the category “services” to Umlauft Textilservice GmbH in Klagenfurt.
The awards were conferred on the prize winners in the presence of Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, Minister for Economic Affairs Martin Bartenstein and President of the Economic Chamber Austria Christoph Leitl.
“The ‘Trio of the Year’ is a model prize for medium-sized enterprises – and the Austrian model is a model we owe to the medium-sized enterprises“, stressed Chancellor Schüssel in his festive speech.
The “Trio of the Year“ is an initiative of the Department for Trade, Crafts and Services of the Economic Chamber Austria (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich/WKÖ), the business journal “trend“ and Bank Austria Creditanstalt (BA-CA). ■

On 23 October 2004 the new Museum der Moderne (Museum of Modernism) on Salzburg’s Mönchsberg was opened with the exhibition “Vision of a Collection“. It gives the visitors a unique opportunity to view the collection of art of the 20th and 21st century, which has been growing steadily since the foundation of Rupertinum (1983), in dialogue with numerous outstanding permanent loans, which have been made available to the Museum der Moderne by private collections and foundations on a long-term basis. Based on the pieces of art from the Museum’s own collection, a concept was formulated that highlights the characteristics of the collection and shows the development of the basic themes – “the image of the human being“, “the medium of art“ and “the world as an image“ – to the present day. The title “Vision of a Collection“ programmatically stands for the dynamic structure of the concept of the collection, which includes extraordinary works by Kokoschka, Klimt, Gerstl, Corinth, Picasso, Modigliani, the artists of the Cobra group as well as West, Fleury, Noble, Webster, Gilbert & George, Gormley, Kiefer and Taaffe. A major part of the collection is dedicated to Austrian artists such as Anzinger, Damisch, Leitner, Reinhold and Schmalix. Without important collectors like Friedrich Welz, Herbert Batliner, the loans of the R. & H. Batliner Art Foundation, Francesca Habsburg and the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection as well as of Thaddaeus Ropac, it would have been impossible to achieve the top quality of the new museum, which lends an additional and fresh image to Salzburg, the “Mozart city”.
Hence, at the opening Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Governor Gabi Burgstaller praised the new museum as a necessary place of encounter with contemporary art creation.
The Museum der Moderne was erected within two years. The costs of 21.76 million euro were financed by the federal province and the Republic of Austria. It offers a remarkable exhibition surface of 2300 m2. The project of the architects’ team Friedrich-Hoff-Zwink from Munich was selected from 145 plans in a competition. The front of the building is covered with marble from Untersberg and structured by vertical grooves. Apart from their technical function for the air-conditioning system of the building, they can be interpreted as a tribute to the place, the City of Salzburg, incorporating future-oriented technologies. With the aid of a completely novel computer program, the main aria from Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni“ are engraved in the form of grooves, whose rhythm reflects the structure of the score. ■

A DNA analysis is expected to clarify whether the “Mozart skull” held by the International Foundation “Mozarteum” is really that of Wolfgang Amadé. To obtain the necessary genetic material for a comparative test, recently the grave of the Mozart family with the remains of Mozart’s father Leopold, his sister Nannerl, his wife Constanze and those of the 16-year-old Jeanette, the daughter of Nannerl, was opened at the St. Sebastian cemetery in Salzburg. After the analysis, which inter alia will be performed by the Municipal Archaeologist of Salzburg, the head of the public health board and a forensic scientist from Vienna as private experts, the remains will be buried again in the family grave.
The project was initiated by the scientific editorial team of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) in cooperation with the TV station ARTE. The results of the scientific tests are to be presented in a film in the Mozart Year 2006. Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, who had died at the age of 35 in Vienna on 5 December 1791, was buried in a mass shaft grave at the community cemetery of St. Marx on a gloomy winter afternoon. ■

The performance of Elfriede Jelinek’s “Das Werk“ produced by Vienna Burgtheater at Prague’s National Theatre on 31 October 2004 was loudly applauded by 900 visitors, among them Austria’s Federal President Heinz Fischer. In her work the Literature Nobel Prize Laureate 2004 explores the complex story of the fill dam of Kaprun (Salzburg).
“Das Werk“ is the first theatre play in German language performed in German in the 121-year history of Prague’s National Theatre. The performance was given in the framework of Prague’s German-Language Theatre Festival. This year the piece was awarded the Mühlheim Theatre Prize and was successfully performed at the Salzburg Festival. ■

The first Austrian Symposium of the Creative Industry took place in Vienna on 28 and 29 October 2004. “Thou shall move!” is the title of the meeting of representatives of the creative industry and all economic sectors. It was organised by “arge creativ wirtschaft austria“ and held at Vienna’s Museumsquartier and at the Economic Chamber Austria (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich/WKÖ). The top item on the agenda was the presentation of a new promotion scheme. “ImpulsProgramm creativwirtschaft“ provides a special subsidy of 12 million euro for the creative industry. As WKÖ President Christoph Leitl explained, the research and innovation programme is to support primarily “small and medium-sized enterprises in Austria, that are creative”. In Austria currently about 20,000 enterprises with 130,000 employees in the private sector are active in the creative industry, that registers sales of about 20 billion euro. According to Leitl, global competition offered opportunities for the export of creativity. Examples mentioned by him were the motorcycle producer KTM, Swarovski, Riedel-Glas and furniture “made in Austria“. While in the past above all timber has been exported for furniture production from Austria to Italy, high-quality furniture from Austria is increasingly being exported to Italy. Since 1988 exports of furniture designed in Austria had quintupled: from 310 million euro (1988) to 1.5 billion euro (2003). As Secretary of State for the Arts and Media Franz Morak explained, awareness of issues related to the “creative industry” has risen in the past few years. Economic and cultural policies were faced with new tasks. The aim was to safeguard the diversity of cultural expression and to ensure that the creative industry was perceived as a key component of the overall economy. A close alliance between the economy and cultural producers was the goal. Based on an interdisciplinary approach, findings and know-how from the humanities and cultural sciences should be combined with skills in software engineering, media technology development or materials sciences.
The new promotion programme geared to the target group “creative industry” concentrated on Austria’s strengths in the areas of multimedia, music and design. The creative location Austria should be further developed with a clear and competitive profile and internationally positioned to take advantage of export opportunities not only in the enlarged Europe but even in South Eastern Asia and America. Besides Leitl and Morak, inter alia Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Bartenstein, the German creative industry expert Michael Söndermann and Chairman of the Council for Research and Technology Development Knut Consemüller participated in the symposium. ■

Andreas Unterberger, (former) editor-in-chief of the daily “Die Presse“, developed the campaign “Austria’04“, in whose framework the “Austrians of the Year” were recently celebrated at Vienna’s Museumsquartier. The readers of “Die Presse“ nominated the prize winners from the economic, scientific and humanitarian arenas. At the gala night supported by the business community and broadcast by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) the “Austrian Nobel Prize” was awarded to gene researcher Josef Penninger, jam producer Hans Staud and the Moldova-based Jesuit Patres Georg Sporschill for his commitment to Romania’s street children. Moreover, prize money in equal parts went to Ute Bock (active for asylum seekers), Susanne Peter (“Die Gruft“, a homeless centre operated by Caritas in Vienna), Martin Schenk (poverty conference) and Leon Zelman (Jewish Welcome Service). Other important personalities considered possible candidates had been transplantation surgeon Hildegunde Piza, engine developer Helmut O. List, social historian Michael Mitterauer, linguist Ruth Wodak, experimental physicist Anton Zeilinger, etc. All of them were excellent examples of Austria’s position in academia, as Federal President Heinz Fischer put it. This important event had been staged under the aegis of the President and of Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel. ■

In cooperation with Museum Küppersmühle (MKM), Kunsthalle Mannheim and the Museum voor Moderne Kunst Oostende, Vienna’s Künstlerhaus shows until 2 January 2005 young and contemporary positions of art of 20 artistic creators of the middle and younger generation of the 10 new EU Member States, i.e. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Cyprus. On show are 50 selected works in the categories installation and sculpture, film and video as well as painting – by Viktor Bernik (Slovenia), Trevor Borg, James Vella Clark (Malta), Famous Five (Latvia), Bohdan Hostinák (Slovakia), Karolis Jankus (Lithuania), Katarzyna Józefowicz (Poland), Ivan Kafka (Czech Republic), Matej Krén (Slovakia), Kristine Kursisa (Latvia), Antal Lakner (Hungary), Maria Loizidou (Cyprus), Petras Mazuras (Lithuania), Kaido Ole (Estonia), Jadwiga Sawicka (Poland), Ene-Liis Semper (Estonia), Ágnes Szépfalvi (Hungary), Theodoulos (Gregoriou) (Cyprus), Katerina Vincourová (Czech Republic) and Dusan Zidar (Slovenia). The exhibition curated by Lorand Hegyi, Raminta Jurenaite and Evelyn Weiss presents works of the past three years and gives an up-to-date insight into the diversity of contemporary art in the new EU Member States. The works are not dedicated to a specific subject but spotlight the socio-political environment of the artists by addressing every-day topics. ■

On 27 October 2005, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel awarded the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art of the 1st Class granted by the Austrian Federal President to pianist and university professor Oleg Maisenberg. In his laudatory speech the Chancellor described the pianist as an artist “who does not only make sounds swing but also the souls of his audience“. Moreover, he stated: “Oleg Maisenberg is not only an artist, but his biography also made him a defender of freedom. (...) The arts can really flourish only where there is freedom. I am therefore proud that Austria is an international meeting place of the arts“.
Born in Odessa in 1945, Maisenberg received his musical education inter alia at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow. From 1971 to 1980 he regularly made music with leading Soviet orchestras, e.g. the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. After his emigration he performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1998 he has been professor at Vienna’s University of Music and Performing Arts. In 1996 he became a honorary member of Wiener Konzerthaus Society. Numerous recordings, e.g. Schubert’s “Wandererfantasie“, are considered standard works. His cooperation with Gidon Kremer has become legendary. With the latter and Kremerata Baltica, the great pianist will give a concert dedicated to Alfred Schnittke at the festival “Wien Modern” on 24 November 2004. ■

The Austrian Theatre Museum in Vienna shows the exhibition “Hans Moser“, one of Austria’s major film icons of the 20th century (until 16 January 2005). It presents the complete range of artistic expression of the favourite of the audience, comprising not only his cinematographic oeuvre but also his outstanding theatre career. A wealth of documents demonstrates that Moser – famous for his clichéd role of the grumpy porter – masterly enacted other characters as well. Guided visits offered under the title “A Kaffeetscherl, die Herrschaften?“ (Coffee for you, ladies and gentlemen?) provide more information on Moser. Enjoying their coffee and cake, the visitors can discuss the comedian and watch Johann Nestroy’s “Höllenangst“ on the screen. Film Archives Austria present a retrospective with all important films of the star, e.g. Erich Neuberg’s legendary film version of Ödön von Horváth’s “Tales from the Vienna Woods” with Moser playing the part of the Zauberkönig (until 12 January 2005 at Vienna’s Metro Kino and 3 March 2005 at Bellaria Kino). ■

Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Federal President Heinz Fischer paid tribute to Austria’s most successful athletes at the Olympic Summer Games and the Paralympics 2004 in Athens at Redoutensaal of Vienna’s Hofburg. “The achievements of our athletes were excellent and outstanding. On behalf of the Republic we would like to thank you today. We are a country capable of great achievements and producing great athletes”, stressed Schüssel. The Chancellor also highlighted the well aimed support of the Federal Government. While in 1999 € 560,000 had been available for the preparations for the games in Sydney, an amount of as much as € 1.7 million was earmarked for Athens. The financial aid for disability sports in Austrian has increased by 45% since 2002. The Golden Badge for Merit of the Republic of Austria was granted to Dennis Wliszczak. The Silver Badge of Honour for Meritorious Services to the Republic of Austria went to Claudia Heill (judo), Wolfgang Dabernig, René Gutdeutsch, Willibald Monschein and René Schwarz. The Golden Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service to the Republic of Austria was awarded to Kate Allen (triathlon), Wolfgang Dubin, Christoph Etzlstorfer, Thomas Geierspichler, Andreas Geritzer (sailing), Bil Marinkovic and Georg Tischler. The Great Badge of Honour for Meritorious Services to the Republic of Austria was conferred on Andrea Scherney, Johann Mayrhofer, Wolfgang Eibeck, Stanislaw Fraczyk as well as Roman Hagara and Hans Peter Steinacher (sailing) … all athletes where no sport is indicated received the awards for outstanding achievements in disability sports. ■

As pupils of Austrian primary schools increasingly suffer from acute movement disorders, the problem has been addressed and an attempt has been made to counteract this development by establishing Austria’s first “physical education kindergarten”. To this end, the kindergarten in St. Veit an der Glan (Carinthia) recruited a sport scientist, who is responsible for age-group- and child-specific physical education programmes and teaches the smallest of our society how to exercise. Secretary of State Schweitzer supports this project with a total subsidy of € 98,000 from the special federal sport promotion budget. A life-long enthusiasm for exercise and sport is often kindled if children can do gymnastics adjusted to their needs and have fun taking physical exercise. If we succeed in making children enjoy sports and become enthusiastic about them and thus prevent a lack of exercise from the very beginning, we create healthier people,” said Schweitzer, who also endeavoured to convince the public of the sustainability of physical education kindergartens and presented data from a comparative study. The project is evaluated based on social scientific methodologies and compared to usual kindergartens. It will serve as a basis for a countrywide model implemented throughout Austria. ■

On the occasion of Austria’s national holiday, the Federal Ministries’ Open Day and the traditional sports event at Heldenplatz took place in Vienna. With its mobility bus “fit for 50 plus”, the Secretariat of State for Sports offered numerous visitors an opportunity to test their mobility and coordinative abilities. The event drummed up great interest. Under the motto “healthy and fit – mobile in all walks of life – mobile into very old age“ the bus tours Austria. Objectives are to preserve and/or restore the security of movement in every-day life. Targeted balance exercises, measuring of coordinative abilities as well as a special spine screening were offered. Experts of the Institute of Sport Science provided competent counselling. ■