On 9 June 2005 President Heinz Fischer awarded Simon Wiesenthal (96) the Great Golden Badge for Meritorious Service to the Republic of Austria. Wiesenthal had made a “major contribution to tracking down some of the greatest NS criminals in their post-war hiding places and bringing them to justice, this was one of the reasons stated for granting him the award.
According to a press release of the President’s Office, Holocaust survivor Wiesenthal, who became known as a Nazi hunter after the end of WWII, had “done a great service in denouncing the most severe crimes at a time when his work in Austria was not always easy“. Under the motto “justice, not vengeance” Wiesenthal had demonstrated that the prosecution of NS war crimes in a state governed by the rule of law had nothing to do with “Nazi chasing”.
Simon Wiesenthal was born in Buczacz in Galicia (now Ukraine) on 31 December 1908. He went to school and studied architecture in Lvov, Vienna and Prague. In 1941 he was arrested by the Germans. Surviving in a total of 12 concentration camps, he was liberated in the Mauthausen concentration camp in 1945 by US troops. ■

On the occasion of the 60th birthday of Wolfgang Schüssel, Federal Chancellor and Federal Chairman of the People’s Party (ÖVP), numerous festive events took place on 7 June 2005. One of the highlights was a lunch hosted by Federal President Heinz Fischer, in which not only top ÖVP officials but also the opposition leaders Alfred Gusenbauer (Social Democrats) and Alexander Van der Bellen (Green Party) as well as President of the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (ÖGB) Fritz Verzetnitsch participated.
A publication in honour of Schüssel with contributions by numerous prominent authors from politics, academia and culture was presented at a celebration at Parliament.
Schüssel thanked his party friends for their congratulations and “positive energy”. An official birthday concert had been held at the “Redoutensäle” of Vienna’s Hofburg during the preceding weekend, followed by a “Party of the Länder” at Josefsplatz.
Numerous birthday congratulations from abroad were received. ■

The Council of Ministers adopted a “Law for Growth and Employment” on 7 June 2005. According to Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel, this would implement some of the steps announced at the “Reform Dialogue” of 1 May 2005, e.g. measures to promote research and combat fraud.
The package includes a research bond totalling 1 billion euro. 300 million euro are to be raised for commissioned research by tax benefits, explained the Federal Chancellor. In addition, the federal government doubled the funds for broadband Internet connections and the combat against fraud. The maximum fines for illegal employment will be raised as well. ■

In accordance with an amendment of the Health and Nursing Care Act adopted by Parliament on 9 June 2005, hospitals and nursing homes will be able to hire staff from loan-employment agencies in the future.
In the past the demand for nursing staff has been met by pools of free-lance staff without social insurance, with temporary employment contracts and often lacking professional qualifications. The new law will remedy this situation. In the future hospitals and nursing homes are allowed to recruit up to 15% of their staff from loan-employment agencies. The employment contracts are subject to the Employee Leasing Act and the collective labour agreement. ■

As adopted by the Council of Ministers on 14 June 2005, driving with the headlights on during the day will become mandatory with effect 1 October 2005. Violations will be fined as from March 2006. Studies indicate a decline in car accidents by 5 to 15%. ■

The 25 EU heads of state and government failed to reach an agreement both about the Constitution crisis and the EU budget at their summit meeting in Brussels (16/17 June 2005).
The ratification of the EU Constitution was postponed. Moreover, a moratorium until June 2006 was declared to decide on the future procedure as well as the next EU enlargement round. In the summit declaration no reference was made to Turkey or Croatia, while the signing of the accession agreements with Bulgaria and Romania was “welcome”. Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel advocated an “active phase of reflection” and demanded “more flexibility”, e.g. in terms of a “privileged partnership” with Turkey, Ukraine and the states of the Caucasus.
No agreement was reached in the negotiations about the EU budget 2007 to 2013. The Austrian Council Presidency in the first half of 2006 will therefore be faced with challenges of great international political relevance: the re-assessment of the EU Constitution Treaty, future enlargement and an agreement about the EU’s financial framework. ■

Greek State President Karolos Papoulias arrived in Austria on 12 June 2005 for a three-day official visit. His talks with Federal President Heinz Fischer, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and President of Nationalrat (first chamber of Parliament) Andreas Khol focused on the burning topic of the EU Constitution and the future approach to the enlargement process as well as on EU finances. Furthermore, the Balkan policy of the Union was discussed.
Papoulias pointed out that the EU has proven its ability to solve crises in the past and explicitly demanded to adhere to the objective of an EU entry of Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and, last but not least, Turkey. ■

Resigning Hungarian President Ferenc Madl paid a farewell visit to Vienna on 15 June 2005, where he met with Federal President Heinz Fischer and Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel.
Fischer and Madl expressed their regret that after the enlargement of the European Union in 2004 “further integration“ was now being delayed. A common stance of the EU institutions was called for unanimously.
Federal Chancellor Schüssel rejected demands to reduce the transition period of seven years for the Austrian labour market, which had been made by Hungary and other EU neighbours in Central and Eastern Europe.
The bilateral relations were described as “very friendly” by both sides. On 13 June 2005 Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik and her Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Somogyi had signed an agreement that Austria and Hungary would be represented in the capital of Montenegro Podgorica with a common representation. ■

On 14 June 2005 Pavo Lipponen, Speaker of the Finnish Parliament, held talks with Andreas Khol, President of Nationalrat (first chamber of Parliament), and members of the Foreign Policy Committee in Vienna. The discussions concentrated on European issues. Khol and Lipponen agreed that the negative outcome of the referendums on the EU Constitution in France and the Netherlands should not bring the ratification process to a standstill. Both sides demanded to strengthen national Parliaments.
Other items on the agenda were meetings with Federal President Heinz Fischer and Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel. ■

Austria will send up to 100 additional soldiers to Afghanistan. This resolution was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 7 June 2005. With this measure, Austria will contribute to reinforcing the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) as parliamentary and provincial elections in Afghanistan have been scheduled for 18 September 2005. ■

The big Italian bank UniCredito takes over Germany’s second largest bank, the Munich-based HypoVereinsbank (HVB). The merger creating Europe’s ninth largest bank is expected to be completed by autumn of this year and the new bank group will be named UniCredit. This was announced by the two enterprises on 12 June 2005. UniCredit will take over HVB for about 15.4 billion euro by share swap. Adding the take-over bids to the private shareholders of the listed HVB subsidiary Bank Austria (BA-CA) in Vienna and the Polish BPH Bank (share swap or cash), this results in more than 19.2 billion euro.
Unlike in Italy and Germany, where stock exchange listing will be continued, delisting has been planned for BA-CA. However, experts advise against accepting the inadequate cash offer (70.04 euro per share). Each BA-CA shareholder would receive 19.92 UniCredit common shares in a share swap.
The brand name BA-CA and the headquarters in Vienna are to remain. The new Eastern Europe Division will be headed by BA-CA Director General Erich Hampel. A merger of all group companies in Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States and Turkey, is planned. ■

Minister of Finance Karl-Heinz Grasser and representatives of the parliamentary parties agreed on a new budget law on 8 June 2005. It provides for mandatory multiannual budget planning from 2007 onwards.
The principle of one-year budgets is to be upheld but in exceptional cases (e.g. change of government) it should be possible to adopt budgets for two years later. Furthermore, a binding expenditure ceiling is to be introduced. ■

Despite the liberalisation of the energy markets in Europe, stable conditions are guaranteed, said Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel on 13 June 2005 in Vienna at the opening of the 2005 meeting of the European electricity umbrella organisation Eurelectric. Austria was a pioneer in Europe in liberalising the markets.
Since October 2001 all electricity customers in Austria may freely choose their suppliers. The macro-economic benefits totalled around 1 billion euro, informed Schüssel. ■

The domestic petrol group OMV AG received the “International Investor of the Year 2005 Award“ in Sofia on 9 June 2005 for taking-over the Romanian Petrom SA., which was the most significant privatisation in 2004/05. The award was presented at the South East Europe Investment Forum in the presence of Minister for Economic Affairs Martin Bartenstein.
Bartenstein participated in the Ministers’ Conference in the framework of the “Investment Compact“ dedicated to the intensification of regional economic cooperation held at the same time in Sofia. He highlighted Austria’s efforts to contribute to an improved investment climate in South Eastern Europe. Austria has been chairing the “Investment Compact“ – an initiative of the Stability Pact for the Balkans – since 2002. ■

Vienna Stock Exchange boasted a new record on 16 June 2005. The most important index of the Vienna market – ATX – surpassed the 3,000 threshold. The index has increased by almost 23% since the beginning of 2005, by 16% since early May and by no less than 57% within the past 12 months. The Vienna market benefited from the investments of leading listed companies in Central and Eastern Europe. ■

At this year’s international aviation show in Le Bourget near Paris also renowned Austrian companies participated, among them TTTech AG, Diamond Aircraft Industries, Magna Steyr Flugzeugtechnik AG, Frequentis GmbH, Pankl Drivetrains, Austrian Aerospace GmbH, Arge Research Center, AMAG Rolling GmbH and Air Ambulance Technology. ■

Wolfgang Aulitzky, initiator and manager of the programme, presented an overview of the first ten years of “Medicine Without Frontiers” at the Federal Chancellery on 20 June 2005. He had come up with the idea of improving medical know-how in Eastern Europe to meet the “Western” standard after the fall of the Iron Curtain. This postgraduate training at university level has been offered in Salzburg for ten years. In this programme American and Austrian experts share their knowledge and experience with colleagues from Eastern Europe free of charge. The training of the Open Medical Institute (OMI) is based on seminars, practice and di¬stance learning.
The programme promoter is the American-Austrian Foundation. Besides George Soros, the founder of the Open Society Institute, the main sponsor is the Federal Chancellery. Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel described this initiative as a “unique project, which should now be applauded”. Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik and Minister of Education Elisabeth Gehrer explained the importance of the Open Medical Institute from their perspectives.
The target group of the postgraduate programme are mainly young doctors aged between 30 and 40 years at a medium career level having an excellent knowledge of English. The aim is to bring together “the best of the best“. Among the partner universities are Columbia University, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the Duke University Medical Center as well as the university clinics of Vienna, Graz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. When the programme was launched, disciplines were selected for the seminars, where a need to catch up was identified in the reform states: cardiology, anaesthesiology, paediatrics, traumatology, urology, orthopaedics and psychiatry as well as public health. ■

“In Styria literature and poetry found a home. I am very pleased that this is the third year the Ernst Jandly Poetry Festival takes place. We want to dedicate ourselves to language, listen to it, lean back and investigate the music of language. I thank Michael Donhauser for his work and congratulate him on the award“. Secretary of State Franz Morak had conferred the Ernst Jandl Prize for Poetry on Michael Donhauser last weekend in Neuberg/Mürz. In his laudatio Jörg Drews described Donhauser’s work as “inconspicuous radicalism“. “His sober narration strives to transcend pure description and become poetry, magic“, Drews interpreted Michael Donhauser’s literary creation.
Donhauser was born in Vaduz in 1956. He studied German and Romance languages and literature. His first works were published in 1986. Among the highlights of his oeuvre are “Die Wörtlichkeit der Quitte“ and the volume of poems “Sarganserland.“ “Vom Schnee“, “Venedig: Oktober“ and “Vom Sehen“ have appeared recently.
The Ernst Jandl Prize for poetry (amounting to 14,600 euro) has been awarded since 2001 every second year for excellence in lyric poetry in German language. In 2001 the prize winner was Thomas Kling, in 2003 the award went to Felix Philipp Ingold. ■

Carinthian author Josef Winkler (born in 1953) was awarded the Premio Lateral for foreign writers for his novel “Wenn es soweit ist“ at the Circulo de Bellas Artes in Madrid on 15 June 2005. The Spanish magazine “Lateral“ – one of the most renowned cultural publications in the Spanish-speaking world, for which numerous Literature Prize winners have been writing – awards the prize for outstanding literary works not yet having received adequate recognition. ■

Franz Rieger – one of the most “modest“ and “silent” writers of Upper Austria – died aged 82 on 11 June 2005. The trained financial officer and later librarian has won acclaim beyond regional borders, notably for his novel “Schattenschweigen oder Hartheim“ critically examining the NS death camp at Hartheim Castle near Eferding. The book was published in 1985. The novel is based on the records of the parish priest of Hartheim and his inner conflicts in view of the atrocities in the “euthanasia castle“. Today Rieger’s novel is one of the most important literary works on the “killing site” in Hartheim, where thousands of people were killed by the Nazis between 1939 and 1944. The strange, the distress of people, especially in villages and rural areas, as well as historical events were the themes of Rieger’s literary oeuvre, which includes also short stories, radio plays and lyric poetry. ■

Austrian film actress Trude Marlen died at the age of 92 in Vienna on 9 June 2005. She was born in Graz and became a famous UFA star in films with Willy Forst. She was a founding member of “Kleine Komödie“, a small theatre in Vienna, where she participated in many plays in the 1970s and 1980s. Marlen was the widow of Wolf Albach-Retty, the father of Romy Schneider. In her last film, shown in the cinema in 2001, she had worked with Houchang Allahyari. ■

The fate of women marks the beginning and end of the dance festival ImPulsTanz. In between (14 July to 14 August 2005) a wide spectrum of the international dance is presented. The festival is ushered in with a special highlight. The Paris Opera Ballet gives a guest performance at Vienna’s Burgtheater from 14 to 16 July 2005. However, it is not a great classical ballet performance – on which the fame of the dance ensemble is founded – that is shown but a contemporary piece. “Veronique Desnois“ is a project by choreographer Jerome Bel. The dancer Desnois, who was a member of the Ballet of Paris Opera, inspired him to a controversial confrontation with classical dance. The ensemble also presents choreographies by George Balanchine and Trisha Brown. The festival spotlights Austrian choreographers presented in twelve productions. Bernd Bienert’s interpretation of Elfriede Jelinek’s work “Unruhiges Wohnen“ is re-performed, which he had originally produced for the Zurich opera house. At the ImPulsTanz festival the dance epic will be performed by dancers of the Vienna State Opera Ballet. Works by Philipp Gehmacher, Chris Haring, Elio Gervasi and Sebastian Prantl round off the programme section focusing on Austria. The festival will be concluded with the project “Letters from Trentland“, which the German director Helena Waldmann developed together with Iranian women. “8Tension“, the series dedicated to young choreographers at Schauspielhaus, shows nine productions of eight international choreographers, e.g. from Switzerland, the USA and Burkina Faso. The number of workshops and research projects offered in the framework of the festival is increasing every year. In 2005 77 teachers will direct eleven research projects and conduct more than 160 workshops. A major part of the varied programme has been conceived for beginners; in cooperation with the“Dschungel” youth theatre, a selected programme is offered to children and young people. ■

At Ringturm in Vienna, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary – the exhibition “Die Neuen kommen“ (Here Come the New Ones) is now on show. The focus is on the female avant-garde in architecture in the 1920s. The exhibition is dedicated to women’s impact on different disciplines: architecture, art, design, film-making, and architectural theory. For a new generation of women – who had developed a completely new conception of themselves and a new self-confidence – designing, planning, building, creating, interior design but also writing and theorising about architecture as well as photography became an artistic mission. The spectrum covered by the show is wide: architecture photographs, drawings and documents, e.g. by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky or Friedl Dicker, are presented alongside with paintings and plans. For these women pioneers the purpose of architecture was to facilitate modern every-day life. This is illustrated by the example of the “Frankfurt kitchen“, the legendary first fitted kitchen for the working woman. ■

Lovers of early music will be spoilt at the festival in Innsbruck (Tyrol) from 12 July to 27 August 2005. The main production of this year is the Baroque tragicomedy “Don Chisciotte in Sierra Morena” composed by Francesco Conti for the imperial court in Vienna in 1719. In Innsbruck a full-length production of four and a half hours by Stephen Lawless is presented. The opera will be performed by Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and conducted by festival manager René Jacobs. The Festival of Early Music also features other composers of the imperial court in Vienna and offers music e.g. by Bach, Monteverdi and Scarlatti. Lunch concerts, backstage talks and a symposium about “Conti and the opera at the imperial court of Vienna” complete the festival programme. ■

Those having enjoyed plenty of early music, may dedicate themselves to the contemporary avant-garde in Schwaz (Tyrol), near the wonderful Lake Achen. Between 9 and 25 September 2005 a programme focusing on Eastern Europe gives insight into the music scene of Poland and Latvia. Music from other countries will, however, also be performed. The audience may indulge in modern classical composers like Iannis Xenakis or Helmut Lachenmann – who will also play a leading role in the autumn festival “Wien Modern“ – and Austrian contemporaries Johannes Maria Staud and Georg Friedrich Haas, interpreted for example by Frankfurt Ensemble Modern, the Arditti String Quartet or the Ensemble Recherche from Freiburg. The large brass band of Swarovski Musik Wattens will participate in the festival also this year. “Klangspuren barefoot“ tries to enthuse children. ■

With the “Austrian Institute of Advanced Science and Technology“ (AIAST) a “lighthouse of European brilliance” is to be created within the next years. A working group set up by the Ministry for Education recently submitted a final report about a project proposed by experimental physician Anton Zeilinger and chemist Peter Schuster, both from Vienna. The main objective of this project is to establish a research institution for university graduates.
“Research at the highest level” is to be conducted at AIAST from 1 October 2006 onwards. This will be accomplished by close cooperation between renowned researchers and fledgling young talents.
Based on the concept, in the beginning ten research teams consisting of five scientists each will work at the new institution. In the final phase after ten years, i.e. in 2016, 25 to 30 teams with a total of about 500 researchers are expected to work there. AIAST will initially concentrate on natural sciences and mathematics and include other disciplines at a later stage.
However, no decision has been made on the location of AIAST. According to Zeilinger, proposals will be made by the Länder interested in attracting an elite university. He explained that the aim was a close cooperation with universities and other academic institutions.
Access to AIAST will be limited: the study courses and research should be open only to “highly qualified students“. Tuition fees will have to be paid for teaching services, but scholarships are planned. ■

On 1 September 2005 actor Herbert Föttinger will become manager of Theater in der Josefstadt (Vienna) succeeding Helmut Lohner. He was born in Vienna in 1961, made his stage debut in Ödön von Horváth’s “Tales from the Vienna Woods“ in 1993 and has excellently interpreted numerous roles, most recently Mack the Knife in the “The Threepenny Opera” by Brecht/Weill. Secretary of State for the Arts Morak was pleased about Föttinger's appointment: “I hope that he will lead the theatre into a successful future“. The full-blooded actor Föttinger himself: “I manage tradition but face the future“. ■

The Danube festival in Strudengau around the Castle and City of Grein offers very fine early music from 29 July to 15 August 2005, e.g. Mozart’s Singspiel fragment “Zaide“ (starting on 6 August 2005).
There will be a clash of cultures at the world music festival “Glatt & Verkehrt“ in Krems (Lower Austria) from 17 to 31 July 2005, e.g. between the band in traditional costumes Rossatz and klezmer trumpeter Frank London. Music from Central Asia will be in the limelight. ■

Exactly three years before the start of the European Football Championship 2008 the official logo was presented at the former imperial palace Hofburg in Vienna on 7 June 2005. At this event the Japanese consumer electronics group JVC was welcomed on board of EURO 2008 as an addition sponsor besides Carlsberg and McDonald´s, becoming the third main sponsor. “The logo gives the baby a face“, President of the Austrian Football Association (ÖFB) Friedrich Stickler, his Swiss counterpart Ralph Zloczower as well as Swedish UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson agreed. The symbol stands for the summits of the Alps embracing the football. The word “EURO“ below is printed in two different shades of red, reminding of the national flags of the two host countries. The mountain range also shines in red. The football in white-grey to green evokes rocky landscapes and green woods and valleys. The green core of the ball represents the importance of nature to the region. In the preliminaries of this event, the chapter concerning agreements about financial aid for expanding and restructuring the stadiums was concluded successfully. The host countries of the European Football Championship will benefit from a value added of about 600 million euro and 14,000 new jobs. ■

The Austrian human rights organisation “Women Without Frontiers” initiated a model project for girls’ football in Rwanda. The aim of the project titled “Kicking for reconciliation – self-confidence, competence and overcoming the trauma through sport” is to support people to come to terms with their past after the genocide of 1994. It was presented by Minister of the Interior Liese Prokop, Secretary of State for Sports Karl Schweitzer and Chairwoman Edit Schlaffer. For the joint training of Hutu and Tutsi girls the equipment for a total of 160 girls was made available with the support of the Austrian sport. “It is important to devote sport to development and peace with a view to promoting the goals of the UN“, stressed Schweitzer. “Tolerance and recognition are values conveyed through sport. They can help to eliminate prejudice and combat violence. Thus sport is a vital element uniting the family of nations“. ■

Studio 44 accommodated on the premises of the Austrian Lotteries was the festive centre of the 60th anniversary celebrations of Sportunion Österreich. Host and chairman of the managing board Emil Mezgolits welcomed numerous celebrities from sports, politics and the business community. Secretary of State for Sports Karl Schweitzer extended his heartiest congratulations and thank the President of Sportunion, Minister Liese Prokop, as well as Secretary General Fritz Smoly for the constructive cooperation and the team spirit displayed during six decades. At a ceremony the success story and eventful history of Sportunion was performed on stage. ■

10,105 women and girls from 37 nations were the stars in Vienna’s Prater this year. An audience of more than 20,000 was responsible for an enthusiastic atmosphere. The previous track record of 15:43.4 of the Austrian Susanne Pumper was topped by the 24-year-old German Sabrina Mockenhaupt with 15:42.9. Organiser Ilse Dippmann conferred the Austrian Women’s Run Award to the legendary US runner and initiator of the first women’s run of the world, Kathrine Switzer. It was mainly her merit that the women’s marathon became an official Olympic discipline in 1984. ■