AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 30, 2006

UNCLAS VIENNA 003447 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, INR/EU, AND EUR/PPD FOR YVETTE SAINT-ANDRE OSD FOR COMMANDER CHAFFEE WHITEHOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPAO AU OPRC SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 30, 2006 Progress in the Eurofighter Committee ¶1. A meeting of the Eurofighter committee on Wednesday endured a small hitch caused by changes in the witness list originally agreed to by all five parties. The changes were made by SPOe, Greens and FPOe. OeVP and BZOe rejected the proposal, but it was accepted nonetheless. There may be trouble ahead on account of a letter by the head of the EADS, Manfred Bischoff, to Minister of Finance Karl-Heinz Grasser offering a complete Eurofigher deal as early as July 2001. The existence of such a letter was officially confirmed by the Ministry of Finance, which tried to downplay the offer as one among several offers made by various companies at about the same time, writes independent daily "Der Standard." The letters were documented in the Ministry and turned over to the Parliament last week. Several details about this letter are nevertheless very interesting, because they referred to circumstances that were only decided later, when the bid for the Draken successor jets was formally announced. For the Greens, the letter smacks of "manipulation" and for SP parliamentarian G|nter Krduter, a "cost-free exit strategy out of the Eurofighter contract" is in sight. Haubner Regulation for Children of Foreigners May be Illegal ¶2. According to constitutional expert Theo Oehlinger, the regulation issued by Minister of Social Affairs Ursula Haubner, which decrees that foreigners have to prove their children are in Austria legally, may be be unconstitutional. Oehlinger sees a violation of the equality principle in the regulation and doubts it will pass legal scrutiny. According to the regulation, foreigners must give proof that their children are in the country legally, however, that can take up to six months. However, child allowance is only granted after the child's status has been confirmed and is not refunded for the period in between - this is what constitutes the unconstitutionality, says Oehlinger to centrist daily "Die Presse." The daily also reports that there was a protest action in front of the Ministry of social Affairs on Wednesday evening - 40 demonstrators shut off the Stubenring. Meanwhile the Green Party accuses the SPOe of hypocrisy in its criticism of the regulation: The SPOe had also given its consent to the strict laws for foreigners - a charge that was denied by the latter. Extradition of Former Bawag Boss Still Uncertain ¶3. Former Bawag boss Helmut Elsner has announced he will fight extradition, decreed yesterday by France's highest court. Elsner refers to his alleged heart condition, which he claims is so bad that he cannot be transported. He will apply for further delay of the extradition request. How could an extradition be executed if Elsner continues to be uncooperative, asks independent daily "Salzburger Nachrichten?" According to ORF online, Elsner has already returned to the university hospital in Marseille and has filed for delaying extradition. The European arrest warrant could then once again be enforced, writes "Salzburger Nachrichten" and points out the fact that Elsner's lawyers have so far exhausted all their legal options. As a last resort, Elsner's attorney in Vienna announced, the former Bawag boss will fight the decision by the highest court in Paris at the European Court for Human Rights. CIA Overflights: Did Vienna Make a Deal With the US? ¶4. The EU report on EU/US cooperation in the abduction of terror suspects reveals that Austria, during its EU presidency in the first half of 2006, considered a common EU framework for extraditions. Pressure for such a move allegedly came from State Department legal advisor John Bellinger, who complained about the "level of hysteria" in Europe with regard to the kidnapping of terror suspects. Independent daily "Der Standard" reports that the negotiations about such a framework included not just Austrian government officials and Bellinger, but also Javier Solana, who is responsible for the EU foreign policy, EU terrorism coordinator Gijs de Vries and a representative of the Finnish government. The agreement proposed by Austria provided for secret extraditions of terror suspects without the human rights guarantees of bilateral extradition agreements. This is contradictory to the EU Treaty and the European Human Rights Commission. While the Austrian government has tried to extract a US guarantee that the prisoners not be tortured, however, the US side had refused to comply with this request, writes the daily. EU Halts Negotiations With Turkey ¶5. The EU Commission has recommended freezing membership negotiations with Turkey in 8 of 35 areas because of Ankara's refusal to yield on the Cyprus deal. However, the move might energize the negotiations and overcome the deadlock over Cyprus: Since all areas dealing with Cyprus have been put on temporary hold, Cyprus might lift its blockade of the other areas of the negotiation package. According to EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, the fulfillment of treaties was an "important principle of the European Union" and the present decision to freeze 8 of the 35 chapters in the negotiations with Turkey did not constitute a complete halt, but a "slowing down" of the train. Whether his prognosis will prove correct depends largely on Cyprus, writes mass circulation daily "Kurier," and points out that Cyprus for months has vetoed all decisions to do with the EU/Turkey negotiations. In an optimistic assessment, independent daily "Der Standard" predicts hat, instead of halting, the membership train wil move faster now - if, as appears likely, Cyprus stops resisting the other chapters that have nothing to do with Turkey's failure to acknowledge th island diplomatically. Bush Met Maliki 6 After the planned Wednesday meeting of President Bsh, Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki, and Jordan's King Abdullah II was cancelled, Bush and Maliki met as planned Thursday morning. The White House denied speculation that Maliki cancelled yesterday's meeting because of a critical memorandum issued by National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley which questioned Maliki's ability to control the violence in his country. Meanwhile the Baker Commission will reportedly recommend a gradual withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. Semi-official daily "Wiener Zeitung" quotes US President Bush as rejecting a quick withdrawal of US troops in Iraq, saying he would "not recall the troops from the battlefield before the mission has been accomplished." However, he indicated a change of course in Iraq was imminent: "We will make the changes necessary to be successful," he said. Oe1 radio morning news points out that the recommendations of the congressional commission are not binding for Bush. Hans Blix on Old and New Nuclear Powers and Iraq ¶7. In an interview with centrist daily "Die Presse, former UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix speaks about the rise of new nuclear powers and the disastrous situation in Iraq. According to Blix, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been a success story overall, since there are fewer countries in possession of nuclear weapons today than pessimists thought there would be. Iran and North Korea were problem cases, Blix acknowledged, and went on to point out that, while Iran does not have the bomb yet, North Korea's recent test has proved its nuclear capability and might cause Japan to think about acquiring them. A Japanese nuclear power, he said, would dramatically alter the whole situation in the Far East. With regard to Iraq, Blix concluded that it was a "total disaster." With the exception of the toppling of Saddam Hussein, none of the goals the US had set for itself in 2003 had been reached, said the former UN chief weapons inspector. McCaw