AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 29, 2006

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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 29, 2006

Pension Compromise


1. Ahead of the next round of coalition talks on Thursday, the
Social Democrats and the Conservatives have reached a compromise on
the issue of pension increases: Both sides approved raising pensions
next year by 1.6 percent and providing a single payment between 25
and 60 Euros. Minimum pensions will also be increased from 690 to
726 Euros per month as of next year.
The OeVP and the SPOe have praised their agreement on pension
increases, Austrian media report. Mass-circulation tabloid
Oesterreich quotes OeVP floor leader Wilhelm Molterer as saying the
compromise was a "good message for retirees." SPOe boss Alfred
Gusenbauer even labeled it the "greatest social-political
breakthrough in a decade." The FPOe and the Greens, however,
criticized the agreement. Greens social spokesperson Karl Oellinger
complained the SPOe had "crawled to the OeVP" on the issue.
Similarly, Freedom Party pension spokesperson Werner Neubauer said
the SPOe and the OeVP were "sacrificing the retirees' interests on
the altar of an emerging grand coalition."


Austrian-Born Children Lose Family Support


2. The SPOe, the Greens and experts on poverty in Austria have
called a regulation from the Social Affairs Ministry "disastrous."
Minister Ursula Haubner, however, has defended the regulation, which
denies family benefits to children of foreign-born women until they
obtain a passport and a visa for the child.
Semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung says that since August 2006,
foreign women with residence permits who give birth in this country
have been required to first prove their child is in Austria legally
before receiving support. Social workers have said this policy has
meant some women have been forced out of their homes. Many of them
are afraid to take newborns to doctors, because they have no medical
insurance. Numerous humanitarian organizations have also criticized
the ruling. Austrian human rights group SOS Mitmensch says infants
are denied health insurance, although all the legal requirements are
fulfilled, the daily writes. The Social Affairs Ministry, however,
insists children have to be registered in their homeland and hold a
passport from there before their parents in Austria can apply for a
residence permit for the child. In addition, Minister Ursula Haubner
has defended the measure, saying it affects only isolated cases. She
said reports of thousands of women and children affected by the
ruling are not credible.


No Government Yet


3. 59 days after the Austrian general elections, there are no
indications a government will be formed soon. Although the SPOe and
the OeVP have resume negotiations on a grand coalition, distrust and
political maneuverings seem to be dominating the talks.
According to a report by ORF online news, Austria's two major
parties, the SPOe and the OeVP, do not seem to be in a hurry to form
a government. Although Social Democrats leader Alfred Gusenbauer
said he would "accelerate" the process now that the OeVP had agreed
to resume coalition talks following a three-week time out, there has
only been one major negotiation round since - oand it's only the
fourth held since the October 1 elections, ORF online writes.
Liberal daily Der Standard in a commentary on Tuesday suggested both
parties are continuing to play for time. While Gusenbauer was still
toying with the idea of a SPOe minority government, Schuessel was
hoping for an OeVP-FPOe-BZOe coalition.


Commission Likely to Suspend Turkey Talks


4. There are reports from Brussels that the European Commission will
recommend a partial suspension of Turkey's negotiations to join the
European Union today, because of its failure to open its ports to
traffic from Cyprus. EU foreign ministers will decide on the issue
at a meeting on December 11.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn has said a press conference
will be held at noon today, where it could be announced - according
to media sources --that nine of the 35 negotiation chapters in the
Turkish EU accession process will be put on hold, ORF online news
reports.


CIA Activities in Europe


5. A draft European Parliament report says many EU member states
were aware the CIA used their territory for the transfer or
detention of terror suspects. Committee leader Claudio Fava accused
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and other top officials of
failing to give full details to the EU Parliament investigation.
Austria is also criticized in the report.
Centrist daily Die Presse headlines, "The Black List: Who Helped the
CIA in Europe?" and says the accusations raised by the EU parliament
are serious, including those against Austria. Like many European
governments, Austria had tolerated the CIA's "illegal" activities as
part of the anti-terror war, the daily says, quoting from the
report, which was published following months of investigation by a
special committee of MEPs led by Claudio Fava. Vienna is accused of
failing to investigate the abduction of two Muslims who were living
in Austria legally. Sudanese national Massad Omer Behari and
Egyptian Gamalo Menschawi were both arrested in Jordan in 2003,
imprisoned at a secret location, and tortured, writes the Presse.
According to Behari, there is sufficient evidence suggesting the
Austrian authorities cooperated with the Jordanian and US
intelligence services in his abduction. Austrian involvement is not
ruled out in Menschawi's case, either. However, the Austrian
Parliament never launched an official investigation into the cases,
the MEPs' complain.


US Urges Greater NATO Commitment in Afghanistan


6. NATO leaders at their summit in the Latvian capital Riga have
agreed that restrictions on where their troops can be used in
Afghanistan may be relaxed. The agreement could release an extra
2,000 troops for the south of the country. Speaking at the
conference, US President George Bush also called on NATO members to
make a full commitment to the Afghanistan mission.
ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal quotes US President
George Bush as stressing in Riga that the "Taliban and al Qaeda
fighters, drug traffickers, criminal elements and local warlords
remain active and committed to destroying democracy in Afghanistan.
Defeating them will require the full commitment of our Alliance."
According to semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung, the US President
called for a stronger military engagement and greater flexibility of
NATO forces in Afghanistan. NATO units would also be prepared to
assume more difficult assignments in order for their mission in the
country to be successful. In mass-circulation daily Kurier, foreign
editor Livia Klingl, however, believes "there is a chance NATO might
be facing defeat in Afghanistan." Klingl argues that soldiers "are
the wrong personnel for the right goal. They are not the
organization to turn to for nation building and reconstruction
projects." The Alliance's mistake, she concludes, wsa to "allow
itself to be used for political purposes - and as a substitute for
politics rather than as a supporting measure."


Bush to Discuss Mideast Conflict in Amman


7. Jordan's King Abdullah has called on the US to make a determined
effort to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians,
ahead of talks in Amman today with President Bush on the issue.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki will also meet Bush in Amman for
talks on Iraqi security. King Abdullah said the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict remains the core issue in the Middle East.
According to a report in centrist daily Die Presse, there is concern
new wars could start in the Middle East. Following the Jordanian
monarch's warning recently, the US is apparently now trying to "turn
the tide in the region, and save the situation as much as they can"
by launching what the daily describes as "firefighter diplomacy."
Thus, according to media reports, the "Iraq Study Group" led by
former US Secretary of State James Baker is expected to propose an
"aggressive diplomatic initiative" as well as closer cooperation
with Iraq's neighbors Syria and Iran. Arab media, too, are hoping
for a US change of course in the Middle East: "The US government has
lost the mid-term elections and the war in Iraq. The only thing Bush
can do now is admit defeat and look for alternative political
solutions," the Presse quotes regional Arab daily Al-Hayat. However,
the President has dampened expectations regarding Iran and Syria: He
ruled out US talks with the Iranian leadership as long as Tehran
does not give up its nuclear program, and urged Iran and Syria to
stop destabilizing Iraq, says the Presse. Tehran, meanwhile,
emphasized it would do everything in its power to improve its
neighbor's security situation: President Ahmadinejad underscored
that a "stable Iraq is in the interest of the entire region."
Apparently, the Presse argues, the Iranian leadership is torn
between the wish to keep the United States occupied in Iraq as long
as possible, and its concern the situation there could escalate to
the point that it would even destabilize Iran. Another Arab daily,
Sharq Al-Awsat, in a commentary appealed for a change of course in
the region, be it in Iraq or regarding the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. Without signs of change, things will be going downhill
more rapidly than we care to imagine today."
Meanwhile, ORF radio says, the UN Security Council has unanimously
voted to extend the mandate of the multi-national force in Iraq
until the end of next year - a move requested by the Iraqi
government.
McCaw