On 4 September 2006 Minister for Economy and Labour Martin Bartenstein presented the draft of a decree lifting the seven-year transition period for employing professional carers from the New EU Member States. The review of the draft takes four weeks. According to Bartenstein, the new provisions could enter into force in November.
The prohibition will be lifted exclusively for nursing services in private households with a person in need of care (receiving long-term care benefit of at least level 1). Hence, an estimated 40,000 professional carers coming mainly from the Czech Republic and Slovakia and who are currently working illegally in Austria could be employed here legally. The seven-year transition period will remain in force for all other workers and nurses from the New EU Member States.
In accordance with the Act on the Employment of Foreigners, private employment of professionals from the New EU Member States providing nursing and long-term care is no longer subject to authorisation and punishable. Salaries will exceed the marginal earnings threshold of 333 euro to ensure social insurance coverage. The adoption of the long-term care decree had been announced by Chancellor Schüssel in “Summer Talks“, a programme of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF), on 1 September 2006. In the current discussion on nursing and long-term care issues, he clearly pled for the legalisation of foreign carers in private households. As the Chancellor stressed, this was however not a lasting solution of long-term care issues in Austria. After this step of “decriminalisation”, the social partners were challenged to find a solution that was flexible and affordable. But “the short-term pressure” was gone, said Schüssel. ■

Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel announced the establishment of an Energy Foundation in the ORF programme “Summer Talks” on 1 September 2006. The Foundation will be funded with 500 million euro during the next five years. Its mandate is to make available environment-friendly energy (waterpower, solar power, wood). The aim is to double the share of alternative energies from currently 22% to 45% by 2020 so as to make Austria more independent from imports.
Economic Minister Martin Bartenstein informed that talks about the participation of the energy industry (e.g. Verbund, OMV) had started. In Austria one fifth of the energy demand is met through sustainable energy management, including waterpower. This is the largest share in the EU. ■

To mark the 60th anniversary of social partnership in Austria, a conference was held in Bad Ischl on 6/7 September 2006 (“Bad Ischl Dialogue“ 2006). Among the speakers were Federal President Heinz Fischer and the presidents of the four social partner organisations – Chamber of Labour, Economic Chamber, Federation of Trade Unions and Chamber of Agriculture. Federal Chancellor Schüssel greeted the meeting in a video message, in which he also thanked the social partners for their constructive cooperation and praised the Austrian social partnership as a “very special success story”.
The social partnership emerged in a period of strict separation between the East and West based on a common commitment to democratic freedom and social obligations. Schüssel reminded for example of the great contribution of the social partners to the reconstruction of Austria after 1945 and their devotion to Austria’s successful EU accession as well as the recent EU enlargement round. “And during the Austrian EU Presidency in the first half of this year, our country has contributed the idea of a strong Austrian social partnership as an idea for all of Europe”, stressed Schüssel. ■

To pay tribute to his great humanitarian achievements, Patres Georg Sporschill (60) was awarded the great medal of honour for meritorious service to the Republic of Austria by Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel on 5 September 2006. In 1991 the Jesuit Patres started to work in Romania, were he founded a social centre for street children in 2002. ■

EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana and Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani preliminarily concluded their two-day talks on settling the nuclear conflict between the Western community of nations and Iran in Vienna on 10 September 2006. After a meeting in the Federal Chancellery in Vienna, both sides stated that “misunderstandings” regarding the incentive package (to stop uranium enrichment by Iran) of the five veto powers in the UN Security Council and Germany as well as the respective reply of Iran had been cleared up. The talks had been “constructive and productive”. “Progress had been made and further consultations had been scheduled for next week, explained Solana and Larijani. The exact date and place were not announced. Diplomatic circles do not exclude the possibility that Vienna will be venue of another gathering.
Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel was informed on the status of negotiations. ■

In a minute of silence the heads of state and government commemorated the victims of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 at the Asia - Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Helsinki (10/11 September 2006). The European Commission pledged its support to the US government in combating terrorism.
Austria was represented in Helsinki by Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel.
The ASEM talks of the 38 participating states and the European Commission focused on the effects of globalisation. The EU and Asia agreed inter alia on a common procedure regarding climate protection. ■

Federal President Heinz Fischer paid a state visit to Switzerland from 7 to 9 September 2006. He was accompanied by his wife Margit as well as Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik and Governor of Vorarlberg Herbert Sausgruber. The programme included talks with Swiss Federal President Moritz Leuenberger and Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey in Berne.
In a joint press conference both politicians highlighted the great contribution of Austria and Switzerland to worldwide peace. In this context, the Middle East conflict as well as European and EU issues were discussed. Both sides hailed the excellent bilateral (economic) relations. With a trade volume of almost 7 billion euro, Switzerland is Austria’s fifth most important trading partner – after Germany, Italy, France and the USA. ■

The EU would not only become active in terms of military action and security policy but also at political level to give fresh impetus to a political process in the Middle East. This had been agreed on by all participants, explained Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik after the informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Lappeenranta in Finland (1/2 September 2006).
The Austrian Foreign Minister emphasised that the EU had made a considerable contribution to UN Resolution 1701, which ended the bloodshed in the Lebanon. The EU would continue to provide humanitarian support in the Lebanon and the Palestinian regions. The Austrian federal government had made available a total of 900,000 euro for civilian aid and mine clearance in the Lebanon. ■

On 5 September 2006, Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik received her Ukrainian counterpart Borys Tarayiuk in Vienna. The talks focused on the programme of the new Ukrainian government and the country’s further approximation to Europe. Plassnik described the Ukraine as an important partner of Europe that would be granted ongoing support in its reform process. However, the European Union also expected the new Ukrainian government to continue the reform programme determinedly, underlined the Foreign Minister. ■

After the Council of Ministers on 5 September 2006, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel gave an account of the favourable employment situation in August. “We have about 58,000 more workers than only one year ago. This is the steepest increase since 1992. I am especially pleased about the significantly lower number of young jobless”, said Schüssel. The coaching programme of the federal government was starting to show effect. In August the number of young unemployed had dropped by 11.2% year-on-year.
The Chancellor stated that the next goal was to eliminate long-term youth unemployment (six months and longer). “No young person should look for a job longer than three months. This is an ambitious goal which I set together with President of the Economic Chamber Christoph Leitl. I think we can reach it”, assured Schüssel.
In August a total of almost 3.4 million people were employed in Austria, which corresponds to an increase of 1.8%. Compared to August of last year, the number of unemployed persons has decreased by 18,400 persons (8.4%). A continuing strong inflow of German labourforce is being registered. ■

The wealth of the Austrians is exceeded in Europe only by that of the Luxembourgers, Swiss and Britons. The real purchasing power of the individual Austrian is about 18,545 euro per year, which corresponds to 169% of the European average. Europe’s number one in purchasing power is Luxembourg, with more than 27,270 euro per capita and per year. These are the findings of a recent study of the German market researcher MB-Research.
Despite the slack in the economy and high unemployment, Germany remains Europe’s greatest consumer market. Almost one fifth of the European purchasing power volume of almost 7,700 billion euro is concentrated in the EU’s economically most important country. More than 82 million Germans have a total purchasing power of 1,495 billion euro.
In Austria the regional champions in purchasing power are the environs of Vienna (21,790 euro) and the federal capital (21,173). Together with Zug, Zurich and Inner-London-West they are among Europe’s regions boasting the highest purchasing power. ■

“Our exports are booming and have once again proven to be the main pillar of Austria’s economic activity”, stressed Christoph Leitl, President of the Economic Chamber Austria (WKÖ), with regard to the foreign trade figures for the first half of 2006 published by the Austrian Statistical Office (Statistik Austria) on 31 August 2006. Exports grew by 12.7%, and the trade balance is positive.
Both the Austrian National Bank (OeNB) and the Economic Research Institute (Wifo) had readjusted their growth forecasts to 3%, emphasised Leitl. Hence, a stable export volume and a general consolidation of the cyclical upswing could be expected. The WKÖ chief was convinced that Austria was on the right track as this development reaffirmed the federal government’s measures in the areas of vocational qualifications, innovation and tax reform.
From January to June 2006 exports totalled 51.65 billion euro, while imports amounted to 51.39 billion euro. This results in a positive balance on trade in goods of 250 million euro. WKÖ expects an export growth of 9% for the entire year 2006, which means about 63,000 new jobs and a plus in revenue of 2.5 billion euro for the finance minister, underlined Leitl. ■

The Republic of Austria does not plan to withdraw as the principal shareholder and controlling owner of AUA (Austrian Airlines), Minister of Finance Karl-Heinz Grasser signalled his full support to the domestic airliner on 31 August 2006. Holding almost 40%, the state holding company ÖIAG is the principal shareholder of AUA. “AUA remains red-white-red“, stressed Grasser. AUA was crucial for Austria as a business location. However, the airline had to cut costs and increase earnings. ■

On 4 September 2006 the symposium “The future of TV production and the media location Austria” was staged in the Rosenhügel studios in Vienna. The hosts were FERNSEHFONDS AUSTRIA (TV Fund Austria) set up within Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH, the Secretariat of State for Art and Media as well as Filmstadt Wien. In his opening statement Secretary of State for Art and Media Franz Morak explained the future international conditions of this industry and announced to double the funding of FERNSEH¬FONDS AUSTRIA from annually 7.5 to 15 million euro starting in 2007. In view of the imminent changeover to digitalisation (which in the future would be an “increasingly important issue for the radio as well“) and the wealth of media channels, “high-quality, innovative and Austria-specific content” was required. Therefore, Morak also planned to expand existing incentive models and support measures and to create “mechanisms to promote content” conforming to Community legislation. These measures should promote the development and availability of Austrian content and ensure cultural diversity in the field of information and entertainment. “I think that improved production conditions could be created in particular for the private media, which unlike public law media do not have to carry out a specific quality mandate”, explained the Secretary of State. In his statement Secretary of State Morak flatly rejected all discussions about a possible privatisation of a TV or radio channel of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF). The dual broadcasting system and media policy had to be “completely redesigned” in the future. Formulas of an analogue past would not work in a digital future. ■

The Linz-based computer art festival Ars Electronica cooperates with the private Japanese TV broadcaster Kansai TV (KTV) in Osaka to raise public awareness of media art in Japan. Moreover, this cooperation project has been conceived as a contribution to establishing a “Center for Cyber Arts“, which is expected to be opened in Osaka in 2011. An annual media art festival will be held in Osaka from 2007 onwards, which will be organised jointly with Ars Electronica. This cooperation would not only “intensify the artistic exchange between Austria and Japan in traditional areas but, as I hope, also in a new, flourishing culture”, said KTV director Hiroshi Yamamoto. To Ars Electronica head Gerfried Stocker it was “a major concern to present the incredibly creative and future-oriented works of media artists to larger audiences”. KTV, a channel of Kansai Telecasting Corpo¬ration founded in 1958, reaches 8.7 million households within its coverage area.
This year the Ars Electronica festival (ended on 5 September 2006) explored the general theme “Simplicity“. The title alluded to the fact that many people think that technical appliances – from dishwashers to mobile phones – have become more efficient and complex but do not make life easier. Mental balance and the boundless digital world – to bridge this gap was another aim of the Ars Electronica festival. Thus the programme included talks about St. Augustine, organ music, Zen archery in the Abbey of St. Florian, for whose eight bells Michael Nyman composed a piece. Moreover, electronic music, discussions about the mass media, the design of computer programmes and interactive art were offered in Linz.
The “Golden Nicas“ trophies were awarded at a gala on 1 September 2006 at Brucknerhaus, in which Secretary of State for Art and Media Morak participated. 3,177 projects from 71 countries participated in the competition. The winners of the six “Nicas“ received prize money totalling 117,500 euro. In addition, twelve “distinctions” and 73 “acknowledgments” were granted. ■

The 10th architecture exhibition of the Venice Biennial presents an exhibition titled “City, architecture and society” (ending on 19 November 2006). It turns the spotlight on 16 megacities on four Continents – New York, Mexico City, Cairo, Shanghai, etc.. In the Austrian pavilion in the Giardini – the building was created by Josef Hoffmann in 1934 – architect Wolf D. Prix of the architects’ studio CoopHimmelb(l)au – who was appointed curator of the Austrian contribution by Secretary of State for Art and Media Morak – presents an exhibition divided into three sections. Its mathematical title is: “City = Shape Space Network”. For this theme Prix selected works by Hans Hollein (shape), Friedrich Kiesler (space) and Gregor Eichinger (network) of the architects’ studio Eichinger oder Knechtl. From Hollein’s works Prix picked a collage created in 1964. It shows an aircraft carrier in a rural setting which serves as a model of a complex urban structure on extremely limited space in the expanse of nature. The “space city” design by the architectural visionary Friedrich Kiesler (1890-1965) dating back to 1925 symbolises the “space of experience” of modern cities influenced by stage dramaturgy. Gregor Eichinger, whom Prix calls a “brilliant networker”, was picked for his design of a superstructure over the Danube Channel near Vienna’s Schwedenplatz, with which the architect rolls out a new urban network across the water.
The fourth room of the pavilion is titled “Vienna. Intensities“. It accommodates a show by Andrea Börner and Bärbel Müller, whose intention is to highlight the “latent intensities of Vienna”. Besides statistical data on urban planning procedures, the rolls eaten by the Viennese also serve as an example to illustrate that the complexity of urban development is not only based on land use plans.
The exhibition “Rock Over Baroque“ (previously on show in Berlin) was developed by seven young architects and architects’ studios – e.g. next ENTERprise architects, ARTEC architects and Delugan Meissl. It is mounted in an additional room rented for this purpose.
The chief curator of this sensational architecture exhibition at the Venice Biennial presenting a fascinating and frightening vision of growing megacieties (no less than 36 million people live in Greater Tokyo) is British theoretician and urban planner Richard Burdett. ■

The financing of the project “European Capital of Culture Linz 2009” has been secured. The financing agreements concluded between the federal government, the City of Linz and the Land as well as Linz 2009 GmbH – totalling 60 million euro – were signed on 1 September 2006. Secretary of State for Art and Media Morak said that in 28 months the slogans “Linz goes Europe“ or “Europe goes Linz“ would come true. In 2009 the capital of Upper Austria would be “in the centre of European attention”. ■

The financing of the project “European Capital of Culture Linz 2009” has been secured. The financing agreements concluded between the federal government, the City of Linz and the Land as well as Linz 2009 GmbH – totalling 60 million euro – were signed on 1 September 2006. Secretary of State for Art and Media Morak said that in 28 months the slogans “Linz goes Europe“ or “Europe goes Linz“ would come true. In 2009 the capital of Upper Austria would be “in the centre of European attention”. ■

The “Erhard-Busek-SEEMO prize for a better understanding in South Eastern Europe” goes to the Croatian newspaper journalist Danko Plevnik. This was announced by the South East Media Organisation (SEEMO) based in Vienna. Plevnik is the foreign news editor of the Croatian daily “Slobodna Dalmacija“. He analysed media and politics in several books. As a reason for awarding the prize to Plevnik in Vienna on 13 October 2006, the organisation highlighted Plevnik’s journalistic activities over many years, especially as a columnist of renowned media in other states of former Yugoslavia like “Delo“ (Ljubljana), “Oslobodjenje“ (Sarajevo) or “Nin“ (Beograd).
The award has been offered by former Vice-Chancellor and current Coordinator of the EU Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Erhard Busek. This honour is to be bestowed on reporters who devote their work in the media to a better understanding among the nations of the Balkan region – to the combat against xenophobia, for solving minority problems and overcoming ethnic divisions in South Eastern Europe. ■

Gerhard Amanshauser died in his house on Salzburg’s fortress hill on 2 September 2006. He was one of the outstanding Austrian writers of the generation of H.C. Artmann und Thomas Bernhard, who was also a friend of his. The author was the subject of a documentary titled “Reisen im eigenen Zimmer“ (Travels in his own room), which caused a stir at the Diagonale film festival in Graz. Amanshauser shared the scepticism and radicalism in his attitude towards society with Artmann and Bernhard. Having been sent to war aged only 17 years, he later despised all political systems or had reservations about them. He did not even want to lift a finger to cooperate in the post-war “economic miracle”. In Vienna and Marburg/Lahn Amanshauser (born in Salzburg in 1928) studied engineering, German and English language and literature. In 1955 he started to work as a free-lance writer. His texts combine elements of the treatise, satire and essay, of poetry and aphorisms. They keep up traditions of Austrian language culture such as refined wit and playing with the language. Amanshauser earned a reputation as an outstanding stylist. Among his most important publications are the satire “Aus dem Leben der Quaden.“ (1968) and “Der Deserteur“ (1970). His novel “Schloss mit späten Gästen“ (1975) was made into a film in 1981. Other works are “Das Erschlagen von Stechmücken. Verstiegene Geschichten“ and “Gegen-Sätze. Ein Lesebuch“ (both 1993).
The author won numerous awards and received a honorary doctorate in 1994. Last but not least, he was granted a Prize for Distinction in Literature by the federal government for the diversity and consistency in his publications. ■

The International Cultural Policy meeting – which has developed into a tradition in the recent past –was held in Vienna’s MuseumsQuartier on 7 September 2006. The subject was “MEDIA / POWER / CULTURE“. The discussion focused on the impact of media with global reach (TV, Inter¬net) but also of the radio as conveyers of specific notions of culture. “It is a crucial function of international diplomacy, which should not be underestimated, to raise the awareness of a country’s cultural achievements. Foreign policy and culture have always been interwoven in Austria. Thus Austria is perceived as an important cultural nation around the globe”, stressed Secretary of State Hans Winkler in his festive speech on “International resonance – the contribution of culture to ‘public diplomacy’“. In one of the most interesting passages of his statement, the Secretary of State addressed “’cultural differences’ today reiterated by the media” often also having “consequences for foreign policy”. As recent examples he mentioned the caricature conflict in Denmark and the exhibition “Erzwungene Wege“ (“Paths Unchosen”) in Berlin dedicated to the displacement of people in the 20th century. “Artists and scholars as well as the power of images and words influence public opinion and to a certain degree shape the policy of a country as the media have made it possible to instantly publicise events worldwide. International cultural policy acts at the interface between image and identity. Austria pursues a proactive international cultural policy as we think this offers an opportunity to make a sizeable contribution to the dialogue between cultures, which is also valuable for Austria itself. To support the European perspective of the Western Balkan states, we have launched the campaign ‘Culture Matters’ aiming at overcoming mental borders through intensified cultural exchange”, Winkler concluded.
The International Cultural Policy meeting was marked by outstanding speakers, e.g. media manager and film producer Jan Mojto, literary scholar and cultural philosopher Wolfgang Müller-Funk, the managing director of the polling institute FESSEL, Rudolf Bretschneider, and Alfred Treiber, the programming head of the radio station Ö1. The manager of RadioKulturhaus, Christiane Goller-Fischer, art historian and cultural manager Agnes Husslein-Arco, literary critic Paul Jandl and ORF planning head Wolfgang Lorenz participated in a panel discussion about the relationship between the media and culture. ■

The exhibition running until 5 November 2006 at BA-CA Kunstforum in Vienna gives an insight in the oeuvre of Markus Lüpertz with about 90 paintings, sculptures and drawings. The German “Painting Prince“ is one of the most eminent representatives of an art movement upholding the “tradition of panel painting” despite all dogmatic changes. He became famous in the early 1970s with his works based on “German motifs”, e.g. the NS steel helmet, the Wehrmacht coat and the corn field. The show was inaugurated by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitzky.

A person exercising is a healthy person and healthy people reduce the strain on the health system. This basically trivial finding is confirmed in a growing number of studies investigating the concrete medical and economic benefits of more physical exercise and sport. In the current political discussion about the financial sustainability of the health system, increasing attention is paid to physical exercise and sport with a view to their inherent cost-cutting potentials. These potentials have been translated into concrete figures with regard to the situation in Austria. Based on the assumption that all economically active people are reached by company health promotion programmes and implement the recommendations tailored to their needs, the Institute of Advanced Studies (Institut für Höhere Studien) calculated cost-cutting effects on the national economy of up to € 3.64 billion (= 1.7% of the GDP). Inter-disciplinary studies on the economic costs and benefits of the mass sport and leisure activity behaviour show that it is increasingly within the realms of possibility to reap benefits from these effects, which are formulated as a theoretical assumption. Even after deducting the socio-economic costs of sports accidents, the current level of sports activities in Austria results in a positive balance for the national economy of € 263.7 million per year. As a comparison of the individual health insurance expenses for early recognition, programmes promoting and strengthening health as well as preventing diseases shows, the share of preventive healthcare is only 1.2%, i.e. about € 145 million. If this is set against the savings potentials described above, there is “significant room for manoeuvre” for quantifiable arguments in favour of intensified prevention through physical exercise and sport. Moreover, the individual responsibility of the insured is increased by shifting the burden of financing to some extent on them. However, recommendations and programmes highlighting the benefits of physical exercise and sport for preventive healthcare, which also reduce the costs of private households, are still inadequate. The common project “Fit for Austria” has been conceived as the umbrella brand of a series of innovative projects under the motto “for life-long practising of sports – sport as a service provider in the health system”. “Thus ‘Fit for Austria’ is my contribution to the discussion about the reform of the Austrian health system”, said Secretary of State for Sport Karl Schweitzer. The aims of this series of projects tailored to the needs of specific target groups is to raise public awareness of the potential of organised sport in Austria, to take advantage of existing opportunities of promoting health and to open up new avenues for relieving the strain on the health system. On the basis of four individual programme sections – preschool age, school and sports associations, physical exercise and sport at work, exercise in the second half of life – all life phases are to be covered. The health-oriented exercise programmes awarded with the quality seal “Fit for Austria” concentrate on practicable offers, the establishment of a lasting individual health competence as well as access to exercise based on fun. The goal is to allow people to adopt healthy lifestyles by strengthening physical, mental and social factors. The associations of the sport federations ASKÖ, ASVÖ and SPORTUNION are to offer exercise programmes comprising endurance training strengthening the heart and circulatory system (Nordic Walking, running, cycling, ski tours/cross-country skiing,...), training of the locomotor system (back, floor of the pelvis...), coordination training (skill and balance training, little games,...), holistic training as well as relaxation. ■