< Following is a transcript of the presentation made by Austria’s Honorary Consul Edgar Braun to the Austrian American Cultural Society of Pittsburgh on November 17, 2004 (text includes information by CG Martin Krämer, Botschaftsrat) >
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<Salutation>
Some time has passed since I had the privilege to
provide you with insights as to the situation in Austria, and I welcome this
opportunity to do so again.
Austria celebrated her national holiday on 26th
of October, a date that has been chosen in remembrance of this day in 1955 when
the last soldier of the allied occupation force has left our homeland. Some of
us may remember this jubilant day when the then Chancellor Leopold Figl called
out from the balcony of Vienna’s historic Belvedere palace “Österreich ist
frei”.
Now, at the end of 2004 we are looking back on a
good and successful year - a year which saw Austria as a politically and
socially sound and stable democracy in the heart of a united and peaceful
Europe.
Today’s Austria is considered one of the wealthiest
nations in the world. With a GDP per capita of U$ 34290 it ranks within the top
nations of the world, ahead of larger industrial giants such as Germany,
France, Great Britain or Italy. Our economy provides best know-how, highly
developed technologies, a modern infrastructure and high levels of
productivity.
Austria also takes full advantage of its strategic
position in the center of Europe and its easy access to the growing markets of
Central- and Eastern Europe.
In the last
year the growth of the economy was a sound 2%, owing mostly to exports
rather than consumer demands. The industrial production showed an increase of
6.1% in the year to June, combined with the second lowest unemployment rate of
4.3% in EU and an inflation of only a moderate 1.4%.
2004 was for Austria a historical year in two
perspectives: First there was the 90th anniversary of the beginning
of WWI which pushed our country and Europe into poverty and misery, and which
finally led to the downfall and destruction of the Habsburg monarchy.
And secondly we enjoyed the accession of 10 more
member states to the EU on the 1st of May. This biggest expansion in
the history of the Union eliminated the last remainders of the artificial
separation line, which had separated the free West from the communistic ruled
East of Europe for nearly 60 years.
After a century we see Central Europe free again of
customs and political barriers, which restricted trade, investments, travel,
and cultural exchange. Old trenches have been filled and Austria and her
neighbors, who were connected by centuries of common cultural and economic
heritage, are united again.
The expansion of the European Union has moved
Austria into the center of the new Europe, not only geographically or
politically, but also in economic terms. Austria takes full advantage of these
new opportunities. So, for instance, Austria’s investments in Slovenia of about
4 billion Dollars amount to 50% of all new investments in this country.
On July 6 Austria mourned the death of President
Dr.Thomas Klestil who passed away only two days before the conclusion of his
second 6-year term as the president of Austria. Austria’s sorrow was shared by
dignitaries from the entire world, where the United States was represented by
one of our native sons, Governor Schwarzenegger of California.
Just two days later the Federal Assembly swore the
newly elected president, Dr.Heinz Fischer, a Social Democrate, into office.
In another political move Austria’s former
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Dr. Benita-Ferrero Waldner, in recognition of
Austria’s reputation in political affairs, was elected as the Commissar for
Foreign Relations of the EU in Brussels.
As the successor of Dr. Ferraro Waldner an
experienced diplomat, Dr. Ursula Plassnig was named by Chancellor Schuessel. In
her opening speech before the Austrian Parliament Dr.Plassnig stressed her
resolve to further continue the positive foreign and Europe politics of her
predecessor, with special focus on Regional Partnerships, the ratification of
the EU-Constitution and the necessary preparations for Austria’s presidency of
the EU in 2006. In 2006 it will be the second time that Austria will preside
over the Union and it will provide ample opportunities for our small country to
further the European integration process.
This year, after long negotiations, the member
states of the European Union agreed on a European Constitution. As you can
imagine, it was no easy task to bring the different opinions, requests, and
expectations of 25 sovereign member states, representing 450 million people,
and several candidates under one hat. Consequently, the resulting document
includes a number of compromises. It’s consequently not yet perfect, but it is
a good beginning.
Next year, we Austrians will be aware of three
anniversaries, which have significance for our country:
We will remember the end of WWII 60 years ago. In a
ceremonial act during the Europe Congress in Vienna’s Imperial Castle, we will
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Austrian State
Treaty, and we will look back on 10 years of a sometimes turbulent but still
prosperous membership in the EU.
Coming to the end of my presentation I want to
mention Austria’s successes at this year’s Olympic Summer Games, which were one
of the most successful ones in Austria’s History. Austria’s athletes won a total of seven medals (2 gold [Dornado
Sailing & Triathlon], 4 silver [Swimming], and one bronze), and we are
proud that our athletes demonstrated that we can also successfully compete in
sports other than skiing.
And last but not least we celebrate the award of
the Nobel Prize for Literature to the Austrian writer Elfriede
Jelinek. Awarded for her, as quoted,
“musical flow of voices and counter-voices in novels and plays that with
extraordinary linguistic zeal reveal the absurdity of society's clichés and
their subjugating power”
<end of text>