Among the top items on the agenda of the two-day closed government meeting (in the wine town Retz (Lower Austria) on 9/10 September 2004 were the fight against social fraud and moonlighting (“service cheque”), measures to promote Austria’s position as a business location and the federal government’s new apprenticeship training campaign.
“We have discussed intensively all topics of our autumn meeting. The motto of our government meeting “harvest time” is at the same time the motto of four and a half years of common work for Austria”, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel explained to reporters. According to him, the most important issues were measures in the field of labour market and employment policy, locational policy as well as environmental protection. The Chancellor highlighted the numerous structural reforms making Austria one of the most attractive business locations in Europe. This was also due to the outstanding performance of domestic enterprises with internationally competitive know-how. “The economic upswing is here”, stated Schüssel. This was also demonstrated by the latest export/import data: in the first six months 2004 exports surged by 11% and imports grew by 6%.
As Schüssel informed, the high level of global interlinkage of the Austrian economy was also illustrated by the fact that more than 1000 regional headquarters for Central and Eastern Europe were located in Austria. In the future it would become possible to train and employ key labourforce unbureaucratically in Austria.
Another issue described as a major concern by the Federal Chancellor was the fight against youth unemployment. “We have agreed that the federal administration, including the enterprises spun off, have to set an example”, said Schüssel. In this area some 100 additional apprenticeship places off the staffing schedule would be created.
A priority in the field of environmental protection mentioned by the Federal Chancellor was the reduction of particle emissions by diesel vehicles. “For diesel vehicles registered for the first time we want to propose an incentive/disincentive system within the tax scheme for petrol consumption under standard conditions (“NOVA”). This will give a strong impetus to reduce particle emissions”, explained Schüssel. A 300-euro bonus for particle emissions below 0.005 grams/km would be granted for 2005 and 2006. Vehicles exceeding this value would be charged a punitive premium of 150 euro and 300 euro, respectively. ■

The governing parties – People’s Party (ÖVP) and Freedom Party (FPÖ) – agreed on the draft position on the pension systems harmonisation bill at the Council of Ministers’ session on 7 September 2004. The law is to enter into force on 1 January 2005.
At the subsequent press conference Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel stated in a joint presentation with Vice-Chancellor Hubert Gorbach and the responsible ministers: “This makes us the first and only country in the European Union achieving a de facto equality of all pension systems. It has been a worthwhile effort to reach this milestone in social policy based on a socially fair and cautious approach to offer real opportunities to future generations. The harmonisation of pension systems is one of the most complex and difficult projects of this legislative period”, said Schüssel.
The Federal Chancellor explicitly thanked the employee representatives, experts and chairpersons of the parliamentary groups for their constructive cooperation during the negotiations lasting several months.
With this harmonisation reform, a uniform system will be created for the next decades. Hence, all people below the age of 50 will be covered by a new common pension system and the sustainability of pension will be ensured.
All those aged 65 and having been active for 45 years will receive a pension amounting to 80% of their average life-time earnings. This formula guarantees the long-term financial sustainability of the pension system and a high living standard to the active population and to pensioners.
To create equally fair solutions for all occupational groups (civil servants, farmers, politicians, the self-employed, white and blue collar workers), specific working conditions and the situation of women will be taken into account. ■

Austria and Finland would co-ordinate their EU Presidencies in 2006 and prepare a common programme, announced Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Finland’s Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen in a joint press conference in Helsinki on 1 September 2004. Both heads of government stressed the excellent relations of the two countries.
Austria’s Federal Chancellor reminded of the “very good cooperation“ in the negotiations for an EU Constitution. As referendums on the Union’s Constitution will take place in several countries in that year, 2006 will be a “delicate period” for the EU Presidency. According to the Chancellor, there would be a “relatively long period of insecurity”. Vanhanen also stressed the necessity of a close cooperation of the two countries in this “transition period” of the Union.
Finland and Austria are preparing a common one-year programme for their Presidencies. “We will do as much as possible jointly: full information, full transparency, full cooperation“, said Schüssel.
A few hours earlier, Federal Chancellor Schüssel had met with his German counterpart Gerhard Schröder in Berlin to exchange views on European policy issues. ■

Slovenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivo Vajgl paid an official visit to Austria’s Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner on 8 September 2004. His programme also included a meeting with Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel.
Besides European topics, the talks focused on the European neighbourhood policy, the Regional Partnership as well as bilateral issues and the Slovene OSCE chair next year.
In this context, Foreign Minister Ferrero-Waldner stressed that a zone of stable neighbourhood was indispensable for South Eastern Europe. Slovene Minister of Foreign Affairs Vajgl explained to reporters how important European and economic prospects were for all South Eastern European countries, and in particular Kosovo. ■

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbajev arrived for a two-day official visit in Austria on 9 September 2004. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev and Minister for Trade and Industry Adilbek Dzhaksybekov.
The talks with Federal President Heinz Fischer focused on the democratic and free market reforms in Kazakhstan, on European policy and bilateral economic issues. President Fischer was invited for a return visit to Kazakhstan.
A double taxation agreement and a bilateral agreement on intensified cooperation in the field of alternative energies, environmental protection and environmental technologies were signed. Kazakhstan is Austria’s most important economic partner in Central Asia.
Nazarbajev also held talks with IAEA Director- General Mohamed El Baradei and OSCE Secretary-General Jan Kubis. ■

Israeli President of Parliament Reuven Rivlin arrived for a visit of several days in Austria on 7 September 2004. He met inter alia with Federal President Heinz Fischer, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner and President of the Austrian Lower House of Parliament (Nationalrat) Andreas Khol.
At a wreath-laying ceremony at the Holocaust memorial at Vienna’s Judenplatz, Rivlin underlined the importance of never forgetting what had happened. He also conceded that in view of the trauma Jews had suffered in Europe, Israel was “possibly” sometimes too sensitive in categorising “anti-Semitism”.
Concerning the bilateral relations, Rivlin explained that Israel and Austria did not only share the same democratic values but also the concern that these democratic values were being threatened by terrorism.
Another item on his agenda was a visit to the General Settlement Fund of the Republic of Austria.
Israeli State President Moshe Katzav will pay a state visit to Austria from 19 to 22 October. ■

The federal government adopted a decision in the Council of Ministers’ session on 7 September 2004 to change the public holding ÖIAG’s privatisation mandate concerning VA Tech. ÖIAG, which holds 15% of VA Tech, can now participate in the planned capital increase and thus remain main shareholder. The possibility of a take-over of the Austrian energy concern by the German electrical group Siemens can now be ruled out, as was confirmed also by Siemens.
Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel stressed that this change of the privatisation mandate did “not mean that the privatisation policy was abandoned”. It was all about providing ÖIAG with an adequate instrument to preserve the unity of VA Tech, said the Federal Chancellor. ■

According to the Austrian Statistical Office (Statistik Austria), there are clear signs of a cyclical upturn in Austria. In June 2004, the production index adjusted for workdays grew by 4.3% year-on-year to 116.7 points. The index (excluding energy production) rose by 4.2% compared to the same month 2003.
Compared to June 2003, 10.8% more capital goods and 4.8% more intermediate products were produced. The production of electricity, gas and heat grew by 5.7%.
In the first six months 2004, the pro¬duction index rose by 3.7% (and by 4.3% without energy production) compared to the corresponding period of last year.
According to experts, the economy had embarked on a growth path in May. Austria’s industrial enterprises succeeded in boosting their sales by 8.7% to 11.9% compared to the same month 2003. However, the employment situation in the producing sector (tangible assets and building industry) is improving only slowly. The number of employed grew by 0.8% in May.
The gross output in the area of tangible goods increased by 8.6% to 10.1 billion euro; the number of dependent employees in this sector (558,402) registered a plus of 0.5% In the building industry (building construction and civil engineering, including construction-related trade) 4,556 companies (minus 0.3%) with 178,081 employees (plus 0.6%) registered a gross output of 1.6 billion euro (plus 0.2%).
The entire building industry recorded incoming orders totalling 1.5 billion euro in May 2004, which is 4.8% above the prior-year level. ■

In the first six months 2004, the listed international special steel group Böhler-Uddeholm headquartered in Austria recorded the strongest performance in its corporate history. An all-time high of sales and profit is expected also for the entire financial year 2004.
According to CEO Claus Raidl, the new steel works Villares Metals in Brazil as well as the growing demand for special steel in Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the USA have made a major contribution to this result. Until late June the special steel producer registered incoming orders worth about 386 million euro. This corresponds to a plus of 35% compared to the same period 2003.
The result before interest and taxes (EBIT) surged by 39.1% to 78.6 million euro. With 911.8 million euro, sales exceeded the prior-year level by 17.8%, as the enterprise announced at a press conference in Vienna on 1 September 2004. The net earnings more than doubled (52.2%) peaking at 40.8 million euro.
The current divided policy of distributing 40 to 50% of the profit after taxes would be continued. From the present perspective, at least 2.50 euro per share paid last year were guaranteed also in 2004, but a higher dividend was possible, said Raidl.
In 2004 Böhler-Uddeholm plans to invest a total of 80 to 90 million euro. As much as 15 million euro have been mobilised for a new rolling mill in Sweden. Other projects focus on intensified marketing activities in China, where the steel industry is recording an ongoing boom. In the medium term the number of sites in China is to be increased from 14 to 18, explained Raidl.
Another priority of the group’s strategic concept was to conclude the integration of Brazilian special steel producer Villares Metals (which has now been consolidated) in the current year. The plant was acquired for about 74 million dollars (61 million euro) in spring. ■

Vienna’s Albertina is presenting exhibitions of works by Peter Paul Rubens and Neo Rauch from 15 September to 5 December 2004 and to 9 January 2005, respectively. More than 160 paintings, oil sketches and drawings from more than 50 international museums attest to the ingenuity of the Fleming Rubens (1577-1640).
The 20 large-size paper works by Neo Rauch (born in Leipzig in 1960) show a world reminding of old washed-out advertising posters and forgotten comics – images that seem familiar and at the same time disturbingly lost in a distant world. ■

This autumn the focus of the creative industries in Vienna is on the music business. At Museumsquartier (MQ) Austria’s first “On Demand Music Store” has been opened. From 27 September to 15 October 2004, Viennese companies of the music industry will for the first time have a chance of receiving financial aid for innovative exploitation and distribution projects – in the framework of the call for proposals “music to sell“ of “departure”, a service centre initiated by the City of Vienna. ■

Austrian pupils show only very little interest in contemporary history. In a poll by Fessel-GfK commissioned by the Ministry of Education 54% of the pupils stated that they took “rather little” or “no interest at all” in the history after 1918. In the forthcoming “Jubilee Year 2005” commemorating the foundation of the Second Republic (1945), the Austrian State Treaty (1955) and ten years of EU membership, Minister of Education Elisabeth Gehrer wants to arouse the interest of young people in contemporary history with competitions, e.g. an “Austria Quiz“ with a final on TV.
Pupils should also succeed in understanding the end of WWII, the State Treaty and the post-war period from an emotional perspective. To this end, two school projects are launched: “Austria Album 1945-1955“ and “Cultural Heritage”. In the framework of the first competition, pupils are requested to send in a photo of the after-war period and to write a story about it. Within the “Cultural Heritage” project, they will be assigned the task of exploring a “monument” in their native surroundings. ■

From 17 September 2004 to 31 January 2005 the Vienna-based Leopold Museum will host the world’s first comprehensive presentation of Egon Schiele’s extraordinary paintings of landscapes and cities. The artist, who won renown notably for his expressionist, erotic nudes, also pioneered landscape painting. No less than half of his paintings depict landscapes and buildings. Of the 90 oil paintings, sketches and gouaches shown 80 are by Schiele. The works, which were created between 1911 and 1915, show the climax of Schiele’s artistic career. The visions of animated nature and dream images of dead cities were not only highlights in the artist’s oeuvre but also revolutionised expressionist landscape painting. The approach of combining the formal concept with a symbolic significance was completely novel: houses became faces, landscapes expressed the moods of the soul. ■

The physician and scientist from Graz, Gernot Peter Tilz, will become a “Knight of the French Legion of Honour“. The 63-year-old head of the Clinical Immunology in Graz and of the Jean Dausset Laboratory will be honoured for his pioneering work in medicine, e.g. the first bone mallow transplantation (1978) and the introduction of histocompatibility testing as a prerequisite for transplantation (1968). Tilz also developed the drugs “antilymphocytic globulin” and “antihymocytic globulin", which were used to prevent rejection. They were predecessors of the monoclonal marker still used today.
After studying in den USA, England and France, Tilz worked at the Blood Research Centre in Paris. At the Hospital Saint Louis (Paris) he discovered a new antigen. ■

With music and texts by Ernst Krenek (1900-1991) the Private Foundation established at the Danube University Krems (Lower Austria) was officially opened on 12 September 2004. In accordance with the wish of his widow Gladys Nordenstrom Krenek it will accommodate the entire estate of the composer born in Austria to make it possible “to re-discover Krenek in his old homecountry“. Ernst Krenek is considered one of the most versatile composers of the 20th century. He was a master at all styles and became famous for operas such as “Jonny spielt auf“ and “Karl V“. In his opening statement Secretary of State for the Arts Franz Morak thanked Gladys N. Krenek for entrusting the estate of her husband to Austria and also pointed out how tragic it was that that the Second Republic had failed to “invite the expelled artistic creators and intellectuals to return“. ■

On 2 September 2004, Secretary of State for the Arts Franz Morak announced that Max Hollein will curate Austria’s contribution to the 2005 Venice Biennial: “Max Hollein is an experienced exhibition maker and the highly successful director of Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt“. As Morak stressed, Hollein gathered international experience at an early stage and knew how to make a remarkable career out of his noviciate in the Guggenheim Museum in New York. First of all, he was a profound connoisseur of the Austrian art scene. But his selection also marked a change of generations, a younger and different approach. He was a “contemporary witness of the outside world of the inner world”. In the last few years he “had prominently positioned the Schirn Museum in Frankfurt at the international level“. He had done pioneering work already in 2000, as the curator of the US Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennial. ■

With Jürgen Flimm, the designated manager of the Salzburg Festival from autumn 2006 to 2011, “a marathon man and happy communicator” will be in charge of the festival, as Secretary of State for the Arts Franz Morak expressed it. Flimm was an acknowledged and competent expert of the international theatre and festival scene and knew from his longstanding experience “how to consolidate the international position of the Salzburg Festival as the exclusive centre of outstanding artistic performance“, said Morak. He found it “very noteworthy“ that one priority was to strengthen the role of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as the artistic heart of the Festival. In this context, the appointment of Peter Schmidl as concert director, a “connoisseur of the international scene and a guarantor of interesting approaches to music”. The Secretary of State also considered it “highly fortunate” that Flimm had announced to engage in an intensive exchange of ideas with Franz Welser-Möst, from whom he expected “a powerful stimulus to Salzburg“: “His involvement – not only as a conductor but also as a provider of fresh ideas and a pioneer – is a key investment of the Festival into its future“.
Director of the Vienna State Opera Ioan Holender described the newly appointed team “a good mix”. Schmidl guaranteed “the quality of the musical aspect”. ■

The film and video artist Manfred Neuwirth receives the 2003 Film Art Prize. The Film Promotion Prizes were conferred on the film-makers Ruth Mader and Norbert Pfaffenbichler. The prizes were awarded – together with the 2004 Thomas Pluch Script Prize – in Vienna on 13 September 2004. The laudatory speeches were delivered by new Diagonale festival manager Birgit Flos as well as the film-makers Siegfried A. Fruhauf and Ralph Wieser.
Manfred Neuwirth, born in 1954, film director, producer, cameraman, is a founding member of Medienwerkstatt Wien and managing director of loop media. Among his works winning several prizes are “Erinnerungen an ein verlorenes Land“ (1988), “Vom Leben Lieben Sterben – Erfahrungen mit Aids“ (with Walter Hiller/1992 to 93) and the trilogy “Tibetische Erinnerungen“, “manga train“, “magic hour“ (1988 to 99). Ruth Mader, born in 1974, graduate of Vienna Film Academy, is – together with Barbara Albert and Jessica Hausner – one of the internationally most successful Austrian film-makers of the younger generation. She has been invited already twice to the Film Festival in Cannes, with the short film “Null Defizit“ (2001) and the feature film “Struggle“ (2003).
Norbert Pfaffenbichler, born in 1967, studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna. His “Notes on Film 01 Else“ were shown at the Venice Film Festival in 2002. ■

The prize winners of the Venice Film Festival were selected on 11 September 2004. The Golden Lion for the Best Film went to British film director Mike Leigh for his abortion drama “Vera Drake“ set in the England of 1950. The jury conferred the prize for Best Actress to the brilliant but almost unknown Imelda Staunton playing the lead of Vera Drake.
In the documentary section “Giornate degli Autori – Venice Days“, the only Austrian contribution “Darwin’s Nightmare“ by Hubert Sauper, was awarded the prize “Europe Cinemas – Venice Days Label“. The jury explained its decision by the fact that it was “an extraordinary documentary showing the devastating side effects of globalisation in Africa”. The film director, who was born in Tyrol in 1966 and has been living in Paris for ten years, worked on his differentiated portrait of the afflicted African region near Lake Victoria for four years. Reporting on traffic in arms and the ecological disaster in “bare images“, as Sauper put it, he created a fascinating film analysis. ■

Since 1994 the International Haydn Days in Eisenstadt have produced opera curios by the revolutionary master of the Vienna classical period of music. The work presented now is already the eleventh Haydn opera shown and the last composed for Esterhàza. On 9 September 2004 in the Haydn hall of the Esterhazy Palace a curious audience – among them Federal President Heinz Fischer – admired Haydn’s delightful burletta per musica “L’infedeltà delusa“ (Deceit Outwitted). The opera with its rich music is all about love, jealousy and intrigues. Filippo (Michael Ende) wants to marry off his daughter Sandrina (Sabina von Walther) to the rich Nencio (Xavier Moreno). But Vespina (Christiane Boesiger) is in love with him, and in the second act she resorts to all her artistry to get the beloved. Finally, the matches are made as planned by Vespina – but as the feelings of the protagonists are markedly ambivalent it remains unclear if they are the right ones. The audience enthusiastically acclaimed the singers for their beautiful voices and excellent acting. The ensemble was inspired by the outstanding Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Adam Fischer, who was supported by the brilliant director and stage designer Hartmut Schörghofer. With a grass-covered and mirror-coated revolving stage weighing several tons, he accomplished the miracle of creating an enchanted world on a very limited space. The plain costumes in matching colours are by Corinna Crome. The entire production demonstrates that the struggle with complicated feelings is not an antiquated, but in fact a very topical problem. Joseph Haydn, called “Papá“, is a modern (band) master, as his friend Mozart described him. ■

Federal President Heinz Fischer officially opened the Bruckner Festival in Linz on 12 September 2004. It offers 19 events, most of them with international orchestras. In his statement for the arts, Fischer said that art was “a force capable of tearing us away from the beaten track (...). It is capable of changing us“.
Secretary of State for the Arts Franz Morak praised the planned concertante performance of Wagner’s “The Rhein Gold“ – a cooperative project between Brucknerhaus and the Ars Electronica Center – as a wonderful example of the amalgam of art and natural science, for which Linz has won renown.
In her festive speech the author Anna Mitgutsch (“Die Züchtigung“, 1985) criticised inter alia the negative effects of neo-liberalism, globalisation and the superficiality of the media. ■

The “Sport & Business Circle“ (SBC) initiated by Österreichische Sporthilfe in June 2004 is positioning itself as a hub between the economy and sports. The aim of the regular get-together (1x/quarter) is to promote business-to-business (B2B) contacts, to introduce new ideas into sport ¬sponsoring, to exchange information on international trends as well as to take advantage from synergy effects in an optimum way. On 6 September 2004 Anton Schutti, manager of Österreichische Sporthilfe, invited for the second event held by the Circle to Hotel InterContinental Vienna. The topic of the evening get-together was “The value-added potential of large-scale sports events in Austria“. Christian Helmenstein of the Institute for Advanced Studies (Institut für Höhere Studien) announced for EURO 2008 a value-added of as much as 130 million euro in the infrastructure sector, one million additional hotel nights and 10,000 new full-time jobs. In general, Helmenstein forecast major profits for the tourist, infrastructure, media and advertising sectors as well as for the betting business. Also Secretary of State for Sports Karl Schweitzer stressed the invaluable effects of large-scale sports events. Other participants in the panel discussion were Minister of Economy Martin Bartenstein, Chairman of the Austrian Special Sports Associations Theodor Zeh, President of the Austrian Cycling Association Otto Flum, President of the Austrian Ice Hockey Association Dieter Kalt, Arthur Oberascher of Österreich Werbung and Michael Kuhn, the President of Sports Media Austria. The next SBC is expected to take place on 17 January 2005. ■

After a short summer break, the Secretariat of State for Sports started its 2nd Mobility Tour under the motto “healthy and fit – mobile in all walks of life – mobile into very old age” at the Dornbirn trade fair on 4 September 2004. With the campaign “Fit for 50 plus“, Secretary of State for Sports Karl Schweitzer aims at motivating inactive people and supporting those already practising sports to significantly improve their well-being in the second part of their lives. “Those training their cardiovascular systems are more resistant to diseases. As long as one is young this may seem negligible but when getting older it is increasingly important to pay attention to one’s needs and body and to assume responsibility for one’s health“, said Schweitzer. A fit body guaranteed a higher quality of life, helped to feel better and made people more satisfied and psychologically stable. ■

… to be held at Vienna’s Heldenplatz and organised by the Department for Sports of the Federal Chancellery. While in 2003 70,000 people came, at this year’s event the audience is expected to exceed 100,000 for the first time since its inception four years ago. The open-air festival offers a superabundance of stars! The Olympic heroes Kate Allen, Roman Hagara and Markus Rogan, the ace skiers Herman Maier and Stephan Eberharter, European swimming champion Mirna Jukic and Austria’s national football coach Hans Krankl – they will all be guests at Heldenplatz on 25 September 2004. The festival features the programmes “Jugend am Ball” (“youth has the ball“) and the EU Year of Education by Sport. Post AG will present the Hermann Maier special stamp, including a special post office and first-day stamp. Numerous award ceremonies for athletes, the Telekom autographs corner and 80 “join-in stops” (e.g. a football mini court, a riding course, the Little Iron ski-jump hill, a practice course for climbers and five stops with new game ideas in the Charity Jackpot Arena of Austrian Lotteries) promise a diverse programme and a wide range of sports activities. ■