The Jewish Religious Community (Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien/IKG) and the Republic of Austria reached an agreement about the indemnification of losses in the NS period, which could benefit also the victims of National Socialism waiting for restitution from the General Settlement Fund. Chancellor Schüssel urged to make payments by March 2006. The IKG will advocate legal certainty in the USA.
On 25 May 2005 the Panel of the General Settlement Fund adopted a resolution to pay 18.2 million euro to the IKG. The money will come from the Reconciliation Fund set up to make voluntary payments to former forced labourers, which had received less applications than originally expected. In return, the IKG will withdraw its 777 applications to the General Settlement Fund and stop supporting the class-action suit still pending in the USA.
According to IKG President Ariel Muzicant, with the 18.2 million euro the continued existence of the Jewish Community has been guaranteed for the first time in history. The IKG would do its utmost to ensure that pending class-action suits would be discontinued and to achieve the legal certainty being a prerequisite for the payments, explained Muzicant in an interview with the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) on 25 May 2005.
President of the Nationalrat (first chamber of Parliament) Andreas Khol described this as the “best day of the year“ and mentioned various measures benefiting the IKG previously initiated. In autumn 2001 the Länder had also pledged 18.2 million euro. In addition, Jewish communities are supported by the Ministries for Social Affairs, Education and of the Interior.
IKG Secretary General Avshalom Hodik emphasised that the full amount of 210 million dollars from the General Settlement Fund would still be available to the individual NS victims and thanked Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and all those making this agreement possible. ■

On 4 and 5 June 2005 the Europe Forum Wachau was held for the 11th time at Göttweig monastery. This year’s motto of the international platform for meetings and dialogue was “Prospects for the future – Europe one year after enlargement”. The discussions focused on common foreign and security policy, regional and economic cooperation as well as cultural diversity as a basis of European identity. Other prominent participants – apart from Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik and Governor of Lower Austria Erwin Pröll – were Slovene Prime Minister Janez Jansa, the Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Serbia-Monte¬negro, Abdullah Gül and Vuk Draskovic. As regards the EU Constitution, the Federal Chancellor pleaded for staying the course and for a proactive strategy.
At a festive concert held to celebrate his 60th birthday at Vienna’s Hofburg, Schüssel said that his wish was a “united peaceful Europe“. ■

The Council of Ministers adopted the key elements of the military and alternative civilian service reform on 24 May 2005. “The total force of the Federal Army is reduced from 110,000 to 55,000. The militia and reserves are affected by these cuts, but not the number of active soldiers, explained Chancellor Schüssel. Leadership and administration structures would be streamlined, enhancing the capacity for international disaster missions. The reduction of military service to six months would be effective as from 2006 by instruction of the Minister and as from 2008 by law.
Furthermore, a resolution was adopted to shorten the alternative civilian service from 12 to nine months with the option of voluntary extension by three months. A voluntary social service was also introduced, which will be accessible to women, EU and EEA citizens as well as citizens from third countries having held residence and work permits in Austria for at least five years. ■

On 27 May 2005 Austria signed the Schengen III Agreement on closer police cooperation in the combat against terrorism and organised crime. Other EU Member States participating are Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. ■

On 29 May 2005 Federal President Heinz Fischer travelled to Mexico for a four-day state visit. He was accompanied by his wife Margit, Minister of Economic Affairs Martin Bartenstein and Minister of Health Maria Rauch-Kallat as well as a large trade delegation. Fischer met inter alia with Mexico’s President Vicente Fox and the Mayor of Mexico City, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
The main objective of the first official visit to Mexico paid by an Austrian President was to prepare the planned “EU/Latin America and the Caribbean” summit during the Austrian EU Presidency in the first six months of 2006. Austria and Mexico had a bridging function, especially since Mexico played an important coordination role in the transatlantic dialogue, explained Fischer. Mexico’s rapid economic growth offered an enormous potential to Austria and the EU. An increasing number of companies were becoming aware of the attractiveness of the Mexican market.
This subject was also explored at the Mexican-Austrian economic forum in Mexico City, in which the Federal President participated. The bilateral economic relations have developed favourably in the recent past. After Brazil, Mexico is Austria’s second most important trade partner in Latin America. According to Austrian statistical data, Austrian foreign trade exceeded for the first time the 200-million-euro threshold with supplies of a total of 205 million euro.
In the Jubilee Year 2005 Austria also offered a cultural programme in Mexico to remind of the fact that Mexico had protested against Austria’s annexation to Nazi Germany in 1938. The exhibition “Austrian contemporary art from the Essel Collection” staged on this occasion at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City was opened by Present Fischer (see Culture). ■

Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel met with Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader and President Stjepan Mesic in Zagreb on 3 June 2005. Schüssel reiterated that Austria was very much in favour of a speedy opening of EU accession negotiations with Croatia, which had pledged its commitment to European values.
The talks were held against the background of the conference “South-Eastern Europe on its way to the European Union” organised by the Bertelsmann Foundation and attended by prominent personalities. Besides Schüssel, Sanader und Mesic, the heads of government of Bulgaria and Montenegro, Simeon Sakskoburgotski and Milo Djukanovic, as well as the Chairman of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Slovenia’s Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel were among the participants. ■

At a meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister and current EU Council President, in Luxembourg on 1 June 2005, Federal Chancellor Schüssel demanded to continue and shorten the ratification procedures in the remaining EU Member States. Schüssel warned that after the “no” of France and the Netherlands to the EU Constitution the process could be blocked or come to a standstill. The proposed deadline for concluding the ratification procedure of November 2006 was a “relatively long period”. He was therefore in favour of “reducing this period of uncertainty” and “intensifying” the ratification process. Schüssel called again for a Europe-wide referendum on the EU Constitution. ■

Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül held official talks in Vienna on 3 June 2005. His meeting with Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik was dedicated to “Turkey’s progress in its approximation to the European Union“, with special regard being paid to human rights. Other items on the agenda included European and international topics. At bilateral level, the economic and cultural relations were discussed.
Gül demanded that the rejection of the EU Constitution should not be associated with the EU ambitions of his country and that accession negotiations should be started on 3 October 2005. During the weekend Gül participated in the Europe Forum Wachau, where he met with Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel. ■

Austria wants to intensify its trade relations with Israel. Austria’s exports to Israel climbed to almost 143 million euro in 2004, corresponding to a plus of 22% year-on-year. Imports increased by almost 6% to 88 million euro. This was announced by the Austrian Israeli Business Club (AIBC) on 23 May 2005 during a two-day visit of the President of the Israeli Chamber of Commerce, Uriel Lynn, to Vienna. The host was the Economic Chamber Austria (Wirtschaftskammer Öster¬reich / WKÖ).
This meeting was “another crucial step towards even more intensive contacts between Israeli and Austrian entrepreneurs”, stressed WKÖ President Christoph Leitl. On this occasion he reminded of his official visit to Israel last year. Israel offered Austrian companies great business opportunities in infrastructure development and in cooperating with the high-tech industry.
Walter Koren, head of the WKO Department for Foreign Trade, also underlined that the bilateral trade relations could be “strongly intensified”. Besides huge investments planned to be made in the further development of rail and road networks, sea ports and tunnel projects, new opportunities would arise in the areas of environmental protection, energy, food, software and tourism.
Uriel Lynn highlighted the numerous links and common interests between Austria and Israel. “Both countries have numerous innovative enterprises, which could only benefit from mutual cooperation. Great opportunities could arise from intensifying high-tech, bio-tech or nano-tech research cooperation“, said Lynn.
During the simultaneous stay of Austria’s Secretary of State for the Arts Franz Morak in Jerusalem, Israeli Minister for Education and Culture Limor Livnat emphasised her country’s desire to intensify the dialogue with Austria. ■

On 1 June 2005 the Telekom Austria group (TA) signed the purchase contract for Bulgaria’s largest cell phone operator Mobiltel. This can be considered another milestone in TA’s business expansion in South Eastern Europe. The take-over with a total investment volume of up to 1.6 billion euro has been the largest foreign investment in the Austrian corporate history and is to be finalised by mid-July.
Mobiltel adds more than 3 million cell phone customers to the Mobilkom Austria group, which is active in Austria, Croatia (VIPnet), Slovenia (si.mobil) and Liechtenstein. Market entry in Serbia and Bosnia has also been planned.
The seller of Mobiltel is a syndicate of domestic and international financial investors, among them the Austrian businesspeople Martin Schlaff, Josef Taus and Herbert Cordt.
With 63.9%, Mobiltel is Bulagria’s market leader. Last year sales climbed from 432 to 486 million euro. The net profit increased from 184 to 203 million euro.■

Thanks to the international boom in the steel industry, Austria’s largest steel group voestalpine registered record results in the financial year 2004/05 (ended in March). The earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) as well as the net profit for the year more than doubled in the best financial year in the company’s history. The shareholders will received a dividend of 2.10 euro, which has almost tripled from the prior-year level (1.60 euro).
The sales in all four divisions (steel, railway systems, profile form, motion/supplies for vehicle industry) increased by one quarter to 5.8 billion euro, profit after taxes surged by 148% to 323.5 billion euro. A similarly favourable result is expected for this year.
At the end of the financial year 2004/05 the Voest group employed a total of 22,955 staff members (excluding apprentices). ■

The Austrian-German building holding company Strabag won the bidders’ competition for the Stuttgart-based competitor Züblin. Bayerische Landesbank sold roughly 49% of the Züblin shares which Walter Bau had pledged as a security for a loan to Strabag. The Austrian group has considerably improved its number one position in Germany. According to informed insiders, the purchase price amounts to about 60 million euro. ■

In the Anniversary Year 2005 Austria offers a cultural programme in Mexico in commemoration of the fact that in 1938 Mexico protested against Nazi usurpation and the end of Austria’s sovereignty. Austria was also in the limelight of the “Festival Cultural de Mayo” in Guadalajara. In the framework of this programme, Austria’s Federal President Heinz Fischer inaugurated the exhibition “Austrian Contemporary Art from the Essel Collection” at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City. It does not only offer an overview of the Essel Collection but also of key artistic developments, notably in painting, in Austria and around the world in the past 50 years. The Essel Collection in Klosterneuburg near Vienna in turn shows a spectacular exhibition about Mexican art (ending on 12 June 2005) with paintings from the 1920s to the 1980s as well as selected art prints. 59 exhibits of more than 30 Mexican artistic creators are loans of the Museo de Arte Moderno and on show for the first time outside Mexico City. Classical and electronic music, jazz, DJs, literature, dance, films, an open-air festival in honour of Herbert von Karajan showing opera and concert performances on giant screens as well as different exhibitions from Austria were presented in Guadalajara (federal state of Jalisco). Classical music was performed by the Altenberg Trio, solo clarinettist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Ernst Ottensamer, as well as by Christopher Hinterhuber and the Gustav Mahler Quartet. Forms of Plasticity (FOP), Attwenger and the Sofa Surfers presented jazz, modern popular music and electronic music with an Austrian touch to a younger audience. Moreover, exhibitions about the architects’ groups Coop Himmelblau, the surrealist Wolfgang Paalen, with facsimiles of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele were organised. New Austrian film-making was spotlighted with productions by directors Jessica Hausner, Ulrich Seidl, Michael Haneke, Fridolin Schönwiese and Michael Vetter. The representatives of the Austrian dance scene were the Elio Gervasi Dance Company and the folk dance group “Krammerer Zeche“. The poet Manfred Chobot as well as a presentation about Elias Canetti stood for literary Austria. ■

In Vienna on 2 June 2005, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel opened the preparatory conference for the UN World Summit on the Information Society, which will take place in Tunis in autumn. The aim of the two-day conference was an exchange of experts’ views and the adoption of a “Vienna Declaration” about options to improve the Internet and multimedia sectors. “A comprehensive information society can be realised only with the cooperation of governments and interest groups”, said Schüssel in his welcome statement. “Austria has invited creative and innovative experts to present the best products and their applications”. In his speech the Chancellor also referred to Austrian e-government initiatives and the opportunities arising from new technologies. The Federal Government pursued a clear strategy: 80% of the Austrian households had already broadband access, and by 2007 all households should be connected. The government had created financial incentives. The law required all public websites to offer barrier-free access to disabled people. The green light for a changeover to new technologies had recently been given also in the health sector. The “e-card” was currently being distributed all over Austria. “It reduces the administrative workload in doctors’ practices, while the reduced administrative burden in the social insurance institutions cuts costs. This is a win-win situation“, said Schüssel. In Austria the Inter¬net and multimedia sectors were developing in a promising way. 125,000 people produced about 6% of the Gross Domestic Product. With a growth rate of 3.6% in the period from 2003 to 2004, this sector has been showing great dynamism. ■

One of the items on the agenda of the EU Council of Ministers of Culture in Brussels on 23 May 2005 was the reorientation of the MEDIA Programme 2007. With the principal aims partially defined by the Council “another step to adopting the programme had been taken, which is an important basis for the negotiations of future Presidencies, whose aim should be to ensure a smooth transition from MEDIA PLUS to MEDIA 2007“, said Secretary of State for the Arts and Media Franz Morak. Only the budget as well as concrete percentages for distributing the funds to the sectors eligible for promotion had not yet been laid down. Especially in view of the Film Festival in Cannes that has just ended and the informal meeting of ministers with Commissioner Viviane Reding, it was “extremely important to ensure that the new MEDIA Programme would provide a lasting impetus to the European film industry and would be adopted timely”. Numerous films supported under the MEDIA PLUS Programme had been shown at the festival in Cannes. The Secretary of State underlined the success of Michael Haneke, winner of the Jury’s Prize and this year’s Director’s Prize, and the great significance of France for film cooperation with Austria. The production “Caché” (“Hidden”) has been a beneficial and paradigmatic coopeation project at European level setting an example in Europe”, said Morak, who also stressed that the commercialisation of the French-Austrian co-production had already started. The new MEDIA 2007 Programme will run until 2013. Priorities are the continuing concentration on the pre- and post-production phases, integration of the “i2i audiovisual” initiative as well as taking account of the market development in the sphere of digitalisation and EU participation in the planned European Audiovisual Information Observatory responsible for gathering statistical data and evaluating the MEDIA Programme. Another aim is to facilitate the Programme administration, i.e. to enhance the transparency of selection procedures and simplify applications. The Council’s agenda also included discussions about the “Television without Frontiers” Directive as well as an exchange of opinions on the subject “mobility of museum collections”. It was also informed by the Luxembourg Presidency about a review of the programme relating to European Cultural Capitals as well as about the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Content and Artistic Expressions. ■

“Media freedom between suppression, voluntary self-control and standing up for ones convictions“ was this year’s theme of the journalists’ meeting at Dürnstein monastery in Wachau (Lower Austria) organised by the Friedrich Funder Institute (FFI). The International Press Insti¬tute (IPI) in Vienna presented data showing that press freedom had been infringed in 190 nations in 2004. The enormous media concentration in Europe as well as current practices like “product placement” or the “pooling“ principle were also a threat to media freedom. In his opening statement “Media Freedom – Oxygen for Democracy“ Secretary of State for the Arts and Media Morak underlined that it was a basic prerequisite for a functioning democracy to safeguard the freedom of speech: “Media and their products are not just goods”. They are means of communication, platforms for social discourses. We need them for information, orientation, education and entertainment, they are indispensable, like oxygen for living“. Morak requested “a high quality of the media spectrum to be measured on the basis of criteria like topicality, seriousness and credibility”. The journalists were requested to convey to the people the developments of the digital revolution in the simplest and most practice-oriented way. The Secretary of State also emphasised the special responsibility of public broadcasting, whose programme mandate was to safeguard objectivity and pluralism. Decisions concerning the programming offered were the sole responsibility of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF). ■

The document converting Theater in der Josefstadt into a private foundation was signed on 25 May 2005. The founders are the Republic of Austria, the City of Vienna and previous partners. This was the final step of the reorganisation concept initiated in 2000 by the funding bodies. Vienna’s Municipal Councillor for Culture Andreas Mailath-Pokorny and Secretary of State for the Arts Franz Morak as well as the previous partners were pleased that that “a new beginning has become possible on a safe legal and financial basis”. The basic subsidy granted by the public sector to Theater in der Josefstadt will amount to 12.3 million euro annually for a period of three years, with the City of Vienna and Republic of Austria paying 6.6 million euro and 5.7 million euro, respectively. Based on the reorganisation concept, the theatre should be free from debt by 2005. In the preliminaries of signing the contract an agreement had been reached that the theatre and the City of Vienna would jointly reduce the current level of indebtedness of 1.6 million euro on a long-term basis. Mailath-Pokorny and Morak then expressed their hope “that the Managing Board of the foundation (editorial note: appointed for five years) would take structural measures to provide a sound basis for a successful theatrical work both in artistic and commercial terms. This would pave the way for a bright future of this theatre that is one of Vienna’s main cultural venues“. ■

The State Prize for Artistic Photography 2005 went to Friedl Kubelka, “one of the most important photographers of the last few decades“, said Secretary of State for the Arts Morak. Kubelka’s oeuvre was a “consistent and concise confrontation with the medium photography per se“. The photographer born in London in 1946 came to head the first “academic study course for artistic photography” in 1977 and founded her own “School for Artistic Photography” in Vienna in 1990. With this school “Kubelka had helped positioning the art of photography in Austria“, said Morak. In 1997 she also finished training as a psychoanalyst. According to Morak, she “made the process of taking photos her special subject and in doing so she made a major contribution to the raising public awareness of the art of photography“. The State Prize is awarded based on the proposal of a jury. This year’s jury members were Monika Faber, Michael Mauracher and Harry Weber. ■

Spanish writer Jorge Semprún (81), who also served as Minister of Culture without party affiliation in the Cabinet of Felipe Gonzalez from 1981 to 1991, was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize for the Political Book 2004 for his journalistic oeuvre. Since the 1960s he has tried to come to terms with his difficult life by writing about it. His experience with National Socialism in the Buchenwald concentration camp, his fight against the Franco regime and his rejection of Stalinism are the main themes of his successful books, 17 of which were published also in German. His most recent book is “Twenty Years and a Day”. In his thank-you statement Semprún said that the belief in democracy – a consistent thread running through the Austrian Social Democracy from Karl Renner to Bruno Kreisky – had proved to be right in a century under the impact of the errors of Fascism and Stalinism. ■

Promotion of the regions is something Secretary of State for the Arts Morak calls for constantly. The Festival of the Regions 2005 held in Upper Austria under the title “Geordnete Verhältnisse“ (“A proper state of affairs”) from 18 June to 3 July 2005 presents in an exemplary way 30 fascinating projects developed in close cooperation with local cultural initiatives and the population. Manifold contacts between people from Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, Russia, Switzerland and the USA are being established. The subjects covered are gender roles, youth culture, regional development, architecture and public order. Accompanying exhibitions are held in Linz. ■

Stage legends Susi Nicoletti (86) and Leon Askin (96) died in Vienna on 5 and 3 June 2005, respectively. Nicoletti had made her presence felt in the Austrian theatre scene for decades. Secretary of State Morak described her as “an important teacher, actress, facilitator of contacts, discoverer of new talents and promoter of young people“. Leon Askin, born in Vienna in 1907 as Leon Aschkenasy, was one of the great Hollywood stars, e.g. in “One, Two, Three“ by Billy Wilder or in Fritz Lang’s “Testament of Dr. Marbuse“. Morak stated: “By enacting different characters, he wrote international film history. The early, great Hollywood is inconceivable without Leon Askin“.■

The conference of the Sport Officers of the Länder was concluded with a call for less stringent admission requirements of the Austrian Federal Football League. The requirements concerning stadiums would cause difficulties to teams promoted to the Red Zac First League, explained Govenor Josef Pühringer, Chairman of the Sport Officers of the Länder. "The Federal League makes excessive demands, more moderation should be displayed". The Länder were supported by Secretary of State for Sports Schweitzer. They requested jointly that top clubs should give a chance to local talents. As much as about 40% of the total federal sport subsidies are earmarked for football. "The Federal League is called upon to take this fact into consideration. It is not possible to have unilateral demands all the time", said the Secretary of State. The demand for promoting domestic talents would be presented in the negotiations about financing the Federal Centres for Young Talents. Schweitzer considers a pool of Austrians only a first step and hopes to be backed by UEFA, which is thinking about measures to promote the football players trained in Austria. The discussions at the conference were, however, not limited to football. A long-term protection scheme for trainers and officials working on an honorary basis was demanded. ■

Top Sport Austria – the Federal Chancellery’s programme promoting top-level sport – has set itself a special target for 2005. Projects for fledgling athletes should be supported during a prolonged period of time, this year’s budget of a total of 2.7 million euro should be invested predominantly in the preparations for the Olympic Games 2008, 2010 and 2012. 47 promotion contracts have been concluded so far, supporting 105 athletes of 15 federal sports associations with 850,000 euro. "With the “Hope" programme promoting young talents we want to support in particular young, promising athletes. Moreover, experience has shown how important in-depth counselling of athletes, trainers but also sport officials is to achieve a sustainable quality improvement", underlined Schweitzer. Another priority was to set up a "mental service" with the aim of offering individual, sport-psychological counselling and care to athletes on a professional and efficient basis. Schweitzer also considered the introduction of common classification guidelines for bodies responsible for the nationwide promotion of top-level sports useful. "In the future duplication can be avoided as the Länder have expressed their willingness to disclose the financial aid granted by them to top-level sports to facilitate coordination". ■

In the spirit of the "Fit for Austria" campaign advocating physical exercise, Secretary of State Karl Schweitzer visited homes for the elderly in Austria. The needs of the older generation are to be catered for under the motto "with healthy exercise”. Schweitzer: "It is our aim to communicate also to older people that a bit of physical exercise is not only fun but also prevents illness and increases mobility even in very old age". The main dangers faced by the elderly are falls and the insecurity of movement often connected with them. "We want to counteract this accident risk and warmly recommend older people to maintain or regain their mobility", said Schweitzer. He also advocated that physical exercise – even if it was "only" a daily walk – and a balanced diet were important for health and mental flexibility. ■