Spindelegger: There can be no relativisation of human rights standards
Austrian Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger on International Holocaust Remembrance Day  "We must see the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp, a symbol of the inconceivable crimes of National Socialism, as a constant warning of where racism and intolerance could ultimately lead to. By remembering the victims we are also called upon to advocate with resolve human rights, democracy and the rule of law", Austrian Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said on the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Spindelegger called to mind that there is a tendency for racist and undemocratic movements to emerge in times of economic insecurity. "A crisis must, however, never be a pretext for relativising human rights standards. It is the shared task of policy-makers and civil society to draw distinct lines here. Democracy and human rights are unique goods that are to be defended. With this in mind, Austria as a member of the UNO Human Rights Council supports the rule of law, the rights of the child and the protection of minorities", the Foreign Minister said.
Austria is also active in other forums, such as the International Holocaust Task Force. Under the amendment of the National Funds Act that came into force on 01 January this year, Austria is providing 6 million euros for the maintenance of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial, and thus contributes its share to preserving one of the central international memorials commemorating the atrocities of the Shoah.

Labour market opening: no mass influx from Eastern Europe
Vienna, Since the opening of the labour market in May 2011 21,736 workers from Eastern European countries moved to Austria. Based on the latest data of the Ministry of Social Affairs, most of them came from Hungary (9,906), followed by Slovakia (4,218), Poland (4,030) and Slovenia (1,862). All statistics, forecasts and expert opinions had turned out to be correct, stressed Minister for Social Affairs Rudolf Hundstorfer on 11 January 2012.

Austria loses triple-A rating
The rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) downgraded the creditworthiness of Austria and eight other euro-zone countries on 13 January 2012. Austria and France lost the top rating "AAA", dropping by one notch to AA+.
In a joint reaction, Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann and Vice Chancellor Michael Spindelegger stated that it was not understandable that one of three US rating agencies decided independently to downgrade the credit rating of euro-zone countries and to give them a negative outlook.
The government leaders reiterated that the in-depth talks about additional budget consolidation measures for the period 2012 to 2016 were likely to be completed by the end of February. The envisaged austerity and consolidation measures would not jeopardise overall demand, economic development, growth and the labour market. Furthermore, the government had adopted deficit rules (i.e. the so-called "debt brake") already before the turn of the year. According to the joint statement, the coalition was holding talks with the opposition about enshrining the debt brake in the Constitution

Austria offers investment in energy sector
TAXILA, Jan 23: Austrian Ambassador Axel Wech has said that his country was keen to invest in the hydel power and alternative energy development projects.
Besides, he also offered technical assistance in hydropower generation to address Pakistan crippling energy crisis.
Flanked by deputy head of Austrian mission Martin Thelen, he was talking to newsmen here on Monday after visiting Taxila Museum.
“Immense prospects for investment and joint ventures exist in oil and gas exploration and renewable energy including wind, solar and hydro power,” he said adding that agreement of a pilot project on biomass energy had been signed with the Sindh government, whereas, opportunities in tourism sector and agriculture were being explored.
He said that for Austria, Pakistan was perfect place for investments and joint venture in the fields of oil and gas exploration and renewable energy.
The Austrian diplomat said that various companies of his country were already working in the energy sector in Pakistan and had also expressed their willingness to expand their businesses, while new ones are also interested in this sector.
Austria will also provide technical cooperation in the hydel power projects, he said. Austria has the expertise in the manufacturing of hydel machinery and offered Pakistan to consider it for their mega hydel power projects, he said.
The Austrian diplomat also said that a number of projects for strengthening Pakistan Railways infrastructure were in the pipeline and with the execution of these projects the trade relations between the two countries were expected to reach new heights.

Zero Project Conference- Human rights in Vienna
For the first time ever, parliamentarians, representatives of NGOs and foundations, academics and disability rights activists will come together to discuss inspiring policies for persons with disabilities.
Representatives will come from all around the world on 22 and 23 January for the "International Conference on Good Policies for Disabled People", to find ways to promote such policies and spread them to other countries. The conference seeks, thus, to strengthen political commitment to protecting and guaranteeing the full enjoyment of all human rights by all persons with disabilities.

Free amusement possibility in Vienna Town Hall between 8.2 till 11.2.2012 for kids and for the whole family
The Die wienXtra-spielebox enchanted from 8 till 11 February 2012 between 2 and 7 pm in Town Hall Vienna a colourful play world. The new and funny shelves and parlour games guaranty the fun and action for the whole family. For kids from 2 years there is a special small child area reserved. For all other children from 4 years there is a possibilty for computer games. Entry is free
For further information about the play days in Town Hall please contact to wienXtra-Pressezentrum and at www.spielebox.at.

Austrian jobless rate lowest in EU
Austria continues to have the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union (EU).
Eurostat said on Saturday that the country – which accessed the EU in 1995 – recorded a jobless rate of four per cent in November. Luxembourg and the Netherlands reached second place at 4.9 per cent each, according to the research organisation.
Eurostat also announced that the EU average was 9.8 per cent. Debt-stricken Spain – where a new government took over some weeks ago – struggled the most in fighting unemployment. It had an unemployment rate of 22.9 per cent in November. Greece – where leading lawmakers consider exiting the Eurozone – also fared badly (18.8 per cent).
Fourteen of the EU’s 27 member countries managed to lower their federal jobless rates in November compared to the same month in 2010. Around 23.7 million EU residents were out of work last November, according to Eurostat.Economists think that the Austrian economy will grow less strongly this year than expected in spring and autumn 2011. They also warned that unemployment could rise in the country in 2012. At the same time, researchers think that more people than ever before will have a job. Developments indicating a rising number of people looking for work raises the pressure on companies – which criticise the low education of many trainees.
Social Democratic (SPÖ) Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer said he could imagine reintroducing the acclaimed short-time subsidies model under which the government financially compensated firms for their losses if they kept staff instead of laying them off. The system was introduced in 2009 when many industrial companies struggled due to a decline in orders.
Hundstorfer’s project could be averted by the government’s intention to reduce spending in the coming years. All ministries of the coalition between SPÖ and the People’s Party (ÖVP) must tighten their belts in the coming years due to the rising pressure on Austria by credit rating agencies, stock market analysts and economists. Some experts warn that the Austrian welfare state is at risk due to the country’s rising debts.
Hundstorfer’s department will not be allowed to spend more in the next few years than it did in the past ones, according to reports – regardless of how the labour market situation develops. The minister for labour and social affairs is nevertheless determined to launch a seven-million Euro project later this year. The initiative is supposed to help women who are out of work for a long time to reintegrate in the job market.
More than 360,000 people living in Austria had no work last month, down by 0.8 per cent compared to December 2010. The Freedom Party (FPÖ) appealed to the government to evaluate its anti-unemployment strategy instead of focusing on increasing the retirement age. The opposition party pointed out that especially elderly people struggled to find a new job after being laid off.
The Labour Market Service (AMS) explained that the unexpected unemployment rate decline in December mainly had to do with the warm weather. Unusually low temperatures enabled construction companies to continue carrying out ongoing projects instead of temporarily registering their workers as unemployed until spring, AMS officials said.

Fines of 2,000 Euros for drivers misusing new emergency corridors
It would be all too easy to be slapped with a fine of more than 2,000 Euros whilst travelling on Austrian roads, this New Year. In order to take the sting out of what is probably already a painful traffic jam, it is recommended that you read on.
From 1 January 2012 in Austria, all cars, motorcycles, lorries and buses are required to form an emergency corridor (Rettungsgasse) on motorways and dual carriageways as soon as traffic ceases to move. This new protocol is designed to allow emergency vehicles such as fire engines and ambulances to travel freely through traffic to the sites of road accidents, up to four minutes faster than normal.
Regardless of whether drivers can hear or see emergency vehicles, they are now required to move to the side of the road as quickly as they possibly can. Whilst travelling on a dual carriageway, keep as far to the left as possible when in the left lane and as far to the right when in the right lane, if traffic happens to slow. The same also applies to three lane motorways with the left lane moving to the left and the remaining lanes to the right. On both occasions the hard shoulder must also be used.
Unsuspecting drivers should not be tempted however to use this congestion free path through the stationary traffic in order to get from A to B just that little bit quicker. If caught using the emergency corridor or obstructing emergency vehicles, drivers will be hit with a fine of up to 2,180 Euros.
According to the European Consumer Centre in Austria, the emergency corridor can increase the chances of survival of a victim of a road accident by 40 per cent. As such both residents and visitors to Austria are going to have to hastily get used to this new system which is currently practised by Austria’s neighbours Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Switzerland.
The ÖAMTC (the Österreichische Automobil-, Motorrad- und Touring Club) have received numerous questions as to the exact requirements of the emergency corridor since its implementation at the start of this month. "Above all we get questions from older drivers who are unsure whether they are able to use the hard shoulder. It is important to remember to use it in the implementation of the emergency corridor," explained Walter Gracher from the ÖAMTC in Leoben, Austria.
Despite there being some confusion surrounding the implementation and technicalities of the emergency corridor, Josef Himsl from the Red Cross maintains that it is a hugely important system. "It is clearly a necessary and very valuable thing. As a result the emergency services get to the scene much quicker," he said.
Stick to your side and avoid traffic free temptations in order to remain fine free this New Year. Better still, make yourself familiar with this unfamiliar traffic law and we may even save lives as a consequence.
To see the latest advert for the "Rettungsgasse" visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjFpckL1rqA

Strache plans stronger right-wing alliances
Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) chief Heinz-Christian Strache discussed immigration issues with high-ranking representatives of Italy’s rightists.
The Eurosceptic joined members of the European Parliament (MEPs) of the far-right Lega Nord party and former Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni to speak about asylum issues and Islamism in a platform discussion in Milan on Monday.
Strache said yesterday (Tues) he intended to strengthen his party’s ties with right-wing movements in Italy. The politician, who has headed the FPÖ since 2005, engaged in creating alliances among right-wingers across Europe in recent years. The FPÖ organised several summits attended by political representatives of right-wing circles in Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries. Strache was harshly criticised and accused of trying to create conflicts when he headed a delegation of European politicians meeting with nationalist Israelis last year.The FPÖ is given good chances to overtake the People’s Party (ÖVP) for second place in the next election. The coalition factions of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the ÖVP are trying to avoid a collapse of their cooperation despite stark differences in opinion regarding the future of the Austrian army and the country’s school and education system. The parties are aware of surveys that the FPÖ might even come first if elections were to take place earlier than planned.The next federal ballot is scheduled for 2013. The FPÖ is currently seen neck and neck with the SPÖ – which won the ballot of 2010 – by pollsters while the ÖVP tries to sharpen its profile. The Greens struggle to benefit from the corruption scandals members of their political rivals are entangled in. The left-wing party also failed to become more popular following Europe’s farewell to nuclear energy. The Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) is currently unable to compete with the FPÖ neither. The right-wing party headed by ex-FPÖ member Josef Bucher could experience difficulties getting over the four per cent hurdle into parliament in the next vote, according to analysts.
The FPÖ formed a coalition with the ÖVP for five years until 2005 when the BZÖ was founded. Strache focused on a strict anti-European Union (EU) course recently as an increasing number of Austrians allegedly disagree with the government’s decision to fully engage in supporting debt-stricken Portugal and Greece. The FPÖ caused a stir last year by running a poster campaign showing a tanned man lying in a hammock. The party said on the poster that money earned in Austria must be spent on Austrians only. The Styrian FPÖ’s campaign poster was just the latest series of initiatives which confronted the FPÖ with accusations of being a xenophobic movement.
The ÖVP decided to hold talks about a possible debt limit accord with FPÖ leaders despite criticism of its coalition party. However, the SPÖ scaled down its attacks on the ÖVP regarding the occurrences in the past few days – a development which made commentators speculate that the party had nothing against the negotiations.
SPÖ Chancellor Werner Faymann is reportedly glad that ÖVP boss Michael Spindelegger and the conservative party’s whip, Karlheinz Kopf, decided to check the chances for green light from the FPÖ for the government’s debt brake plans. The ÖVP leaders’ decision saved Faymann from party-internal feuds with left-wing backbenchers about whether the FPÖ should be approached to debate important political issues like a constitutional debt limit.

Austria too weak for Northern Eurozone, economist warns
Economic expert Stefan Bruckbauer has warned that Austria might be forced to reintroduce the Schilling if European Union (EU) leaders fail to send a clear signal to the financial markets this weekend.
Speaking ahead of the summit of EU state and government chiefs, the Bank Austria (BA) economist said Austria might be too weak to sustain in a Northern Eurozone were the Eurozone split into two parts.
Some economists like Hans-Werner Sinn have spoken out in favour of separating the current group of 17 EU members which use the Euro into two – an economically healthy group of states situated in the north and a group consisting of troubled countries like Greece and Italy.
Bruckbauer told the Kurier today (Weds) it was impossible to rule out that the Eurozone failed to exist in its current form if EU decision-makers presented credible strategies and solutions to the current crisis at their meeting in Brussels, Belgium, this weekend. Bruckbauer warned that Austria might be led towards reintroducing the Schilling – which was replaced by the Euro in 2002 – if the leaders of the EU’s 27 member countries did not stop arguing about how to get through the crisis.
The chief economist of BA, which is part of Italy’s UniCredit bank, said Germany would not be strong enough financially to keep Austria in a Northern Eurozone. Bruckbauer claimed that such a scenario would force the small Alpine country to replace the Euro with the Schilling.
Freedom Party (FPÖ) chairman Heinz-Christian Strache called on the government coalition many times to allow an open debate free from any taboos about whether Austria might be better off out of the Eurozone. Social Democratic (SPÖ) Chancellor Werner Faymann and People’s Party (ÖVP) Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger accused Strache of showing willingness to lead Austria into ruin by making such statements. Around one in three Austrians want their homeland to leave the Eurozone, according to surveys.
Karl Aiginger, head of the Viennese Institute for Economic Research (WIFO), warned that a collapse of the Eurozone would be a worst case scenario for Austria. The economist said Austria would find itself on the edge of Europe as far as economic concerns were concerned. He compared the possible situation with geographical circumstances at times when the Iron Curtain still existed.
Aiginger warned from a massive decline of export volumes and soaring jobless rates in Austria if the Eurozone comes to an end. Studies suggest that such events would leave the Eurozone’s current 17 members with costs of 4.5 billion Euros. A collapse of the banking system could not be ruled out, according to experts.
The Austrian government tried to prepare for a potential worsening of the European economy by ordering itself to stick to a debt brake. The coalition of SPÖ and ÖVP planned to create a constitutional debt limit – a tool which should be introduced in all Eurozone states in the opinion of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
SPÖ and ÖVP passed the debt brake draft bill with a simple majority in parliament yesterday after none of the three opposition parties provided support. The FPÖ said it was angered with the government parties for failing to start reforms earlier and without the existence of a debt limit while the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) wanted to lower the maximum tax rate by eight per cent to 42 per cent. The SPÖ disagreed with this suggestion. The Greens criticised the coalition for offering precise information on how it planned to lower the budget deficit from 3.9 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) to three per cent in 2020.

Austrian jobless rate lowest in EU
Austria remains Europe’s model pupil as far as unemployment rates are regarded.
The country, which joined the European Union (EU) in 1995, had a jobless rate of 4.1 per cent in October, according to research by Eurostat. The agency carries out research for the European Commission (EC). Eurostat said today (Weds) Luxembourg registered the second-lowest unemployment rate among the EU-27 at 4.7 per cent, with the Netherlands in third (4.8 per cent) place.
The average jobless rate among the 17 Eurozone members – the EU countries which use the Eurozone as their currency – was 10.3 per cent last month, 0.1 percentage points higher than in the previous month. Austria has been a member of the Eurozone since 2002. The EU-27 recorded an increase of the same extent from September 2011 to the next month. Eurostat said 9.8 per cent of EU citizens were out of work in October of this year.
Spain is experiencing the most serious difficulties in fighting unemployment as the debt-ridden country recorded a jobless rate of almost 23 per cent last month. The situation is similarly dramatic in Greece (18 per cent) and Latvia (16 per cent). Around 16.2 million of the 23.6 million unemployed EU citizens reside in Eurozone countries, according to Eurostat investigations.
Detailed Eurostat labour research figures show that there is still room for improvement for Austria. The country’s youth unemployment rate was 9.1 per cent last month. The Netherlands did best in providing work for young people as only 8.2 per cent had no job in October. Germany comes second in this concern (8.5 per cent), with neighbouring Austria being third. Spain is also at the bottom of this ranking with a rate of 48.9 per cent.
Austrian Social Democratic (SPÖ) Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer recently identified the battle against youth unemployment as one of his most important tasks of the coming months. The Social Democrat said attempts of helping women, immigrants and elderly people would receive more attention by experts of his ministry and the Federal Labour Market Service (AMS). The labour ministry will spend seven million Euros more than initially planned on upcoming work initiatives for women aged 50 and over.
Austria’s leading economic research groups – the Viennese Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) and the Institute for Advanced Studies (IHS) – warned that a slight increase of the country’s unemployment rate was likely to occur in 2012. WIFO and IHS said chances that the situation would improve again in 2013 were good given that the Eurozone crisis managed to plunge into a worse crisis than it currently experienced.
The Austrian economy will grow by 0.8 per cent from 2011 to 2012, according to WIFO’s most recent economic forecast. The agency predicted an increase of 1.8 per cent in July before it lowered its outlook in September. IHS experts predicted an increase of 2.1 per cent in July, but corrected its outlook for 2012 to 1.3 per cent due to the expected unemployment increase, fears of a decline in exports and people's growing reluctance to spend.

Austrian Millionaire happier than ever after giving up fortune
A millionaire who gave away all his cash to charity two years ago because it didn't make him happy has told how he's finally found contentment.
Businessman Karl Rabeder, 49 - from Telfs, Austria - sold his business, a luxury Alpine mansion, limos and sports cars, a private plane and donated the cash to a charity that sponsors small loans to customers in the Third World who would never be given cash by a bank.
He now lives on 1,000 GBP a month from fees for talks to businessmen about his new life and is buying a modest home.
"Only now am I happy. If you write down the things that really make you happy and their cost, you will realise what I mean," said Rabeder."Love, sunshine, fresh air - those are the things that make me happy," he added.
And he thanked the charity for taking his cash and finally letting him enjoy life."Having only a little money makes me happier. Seeing pictures of me back then as a millionaire, I look so miserable," he said.