JUNE 5 U.S.-AUSTRIA MARSHALL PLAN CEREMONY --

UNCLAS VIENNA 001312 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR L/EUR AND EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV SCUL AU SUBJECT: JUNE 5 U.S.-AUSTRIA MARSHALL PLAN CEREMONY -- DRAFT MOU REF: A. DRAFT MOU OF 4/26/07 ¶B. PHILLIPS-OLSON MEETING 5/10/07 ¶1. This message contains an urgent action request in para 4. ¶2. Per refs, the Austrian government has proposed a memorandum of understanding to serve as the vehicle for recording consensus on the use of European Recovery Program (ERP) funds under a 1961 bilateral U.S.-Austrian agreement. It is our understanding that the uses that we now contemplate fall within the scope of the existing agreement. Therefore, the document will not be a legally-binding instrument, but a political statement of intent. ¶3. Text of the Austrian draft appears in para. 5 below. We note suggested changes in the text. ¶4. Action request: that the Department authorize signature of the text in para 4 below, as changed. Request response by OOB CET Wednesday, May 26. ¶5. Begin text: Memorandum of Understanding Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the historic speech by U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall at Harvard and his proposal for the United States "to assist in the return of normal economic health in the world" and "the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist", Remembering the great success of the European Recovery Programme (CHANGE: Program) which greatly contributed to the ability of Europe to recover from the ruins of World War II. Recognising (CHANGE: Recognizing) the positive developments in Europe over the past 60 years and this year's celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the signatures of the Treaty of Rome which have brought about European unification, peace and prosperity, and freedom of the peoples of Central and Eastern Europe, thus consigning the unnatural division of Europe to the past, (CHANGE: delete text after "past 60 years." Rationale: the U.S. is not a party to the Treaty of Rome.) The Republic of Austria and the United States of America agree, through this Memorandum of Understanding, to continue the promotion of mutual understanding of the peoples of the United States and Austria by establishing a bilateral exchange program. (CHANGE: program) The program (CHANGE: program) which will be funded by the Austrian ERP Fund is designed to improve Austro-American relations in the spirit of the Marshall Plan and strengthen scholarly and scientific co-operation. Therefore, the Governments of both countries declare their intention - to encourage educational co-operation through exchanges of apprentices and students, (CHANGE: delete " apprentices and." Rationale: U.S. exchange programs do not contemplate "apprentices.") in particular of universities of applied sciences and technical universities (including the University of Leoben, and the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna); (CHANGE: delete "(including...Vienna)." Rationale: this is unnecessarily limiting.) - to further the efforts of AFS which contributes to mutual understanding of young people through its programs (CHANGE: programs) of student exchanges; - to support the dedication of adequate funding from the Austrian ERP Fund, in order to enable the Austrian Marshall-Plan-Foundation (CHANGE: replace dashes with spaces) to offer up to 1000 scholarships for American and Austrian students, i.e. annually up to 100 starting in the academic year 2008 until 2017. (CHANGE: rephrase the last clause to read, "... up to 100 per year for the academic years 2008 through 2017.") - to promote a co-operation between the Marshall-Plan-Foundation, (CHANGE: replace dashes with spaces) the Austrian-American Educational Commission (Fulbright Commission) and the Austrian Exchange Service (OeAD) in the administrative implementation of this program. (CHANGE: program) This memorandum is effective upon signature and continues to remain in effect until either Party chooses to terminate it through diplomatic channels. Termination shall be effective after the date of a written notification. (CHANGE: delete entire paragraph. Rationale: the agreement is not legally binding.) Signed at Vienna on June 5th 2007. McCaw