AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: February 23, 2007

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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: February 23, 2007

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1. Erika Rumpold, head of public relations company 100 Percent
Communications, which received over 6 million Euros to promote
Eurofighters refused to answer questions at the parliamentary
inquiry looking into the purchase of the planes. Committee members
said Rumpold may face a fine similar to that imposed by a court on a
lobbyist for the Eurofighter manufacturer EADS, who also refused to
testify. The inquiry seeks to learn what happened to the rest of the
6.6 million Euros, as only 2 million went into advertising, reports
ORF TV's prime time news Zeit im Bild I on Thursday.


SPOe Meeting


2. At the meeting of the Social Democrats' cabinet members in Vienna
yesterday, Chancellor and SPOe party boss Alfred Gusenbauer spoke
out against giving skilled workers from Eastern European countries
easy access to the Austrian job market, thus dismissing a proposal
by Economics Minister Martin Bartenstein (OeVP),who suggested
bringing in foreign workers to counter labor shortages in industry.
For Gusenbauer, however, this is the "wrong way." He proposed
training these skilled workers in Austria instead, according to ORF
online news.


UN Boss in Vienna


3. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, speaking in Vienna
yesterday, said he was deeply concerned by the international
community's conflict with Iran and its nuclear program. He made the
remarks during a press conference with Austrian Foreign Minister
Ursula Plassnik. In an interview with an Austrian daily, the UN
Secretary General underscored Iran must comply with UN resolutions

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as soon as possible.

Speaking in Vienna, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon told
semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung that it is "indeed, highly
regrettable that ultimately Iran failed to comply with the Security
Council resolution. I am deeply concerned. The way this dispute is
developing is very unfortunate. The government in Tehran should
strive for a better future for the Iranian people." Ban Ki Moon is
visiting the IAEA and meeting with Director General Mohammed
ElBaradei during his two-day visit to Vienna. He is also meeting
with the head of the UN's Vienna office, Antonio Maria Costa. On
Thursday, in addition to the Foreign Minister, the UN chief held
talks with Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Chancellor Alfred
Gusenbauer and Parliamentary President Barbara Prammer.

In an interview with centrist daily Die Presse, Ban Ki Moon
criticized Iran's defiance of the UN in the dispute over its nuclear
ambitions. He repeated he is "deeply concerned" over Iran's stance
and the fact that Tehran has chosen to "ignore international calls
to suspend uranium enrichment. Iran should have convinced the world
that its right to use nuclear power is indeed motivated by peaceful
purposes. The country should have completed the entire IAEA
verification process, but failed to do so. Now, the IAEA report will
be referred to the UN Security Council. It is up to the Council to
decide which measures to take."

Talking to liberal daily Der Standard, the UN Secretary General
urged the "Iranian leadership to launch negotiations now on how the
dispute can be resolved, even before the UN Security Council takes
further measures. A tightening of the sanctions would be
deplorable." He added that he will have to "discuss the issue with
the Security Council. And whatever initiatives they propose, I'm
prepared to follow up on them."


Bid to Ban Cluster Bombs Begins


4. The Austrian government has banned the use of cluster bombs by
its armed forces. The ban came ahead of a 48-nation meeting called
by Norway to try to stop the use of such bombs. The Oslo meeting
began Thursday without the US, Russia and China, after arms talks in
Geneva last November failed to achieve progress toward a ban. Norway
says it wants the weapons to be outlawed by 2008, but as they are
considered an effective military tool, a ban on cluster bombs is
unlikely. Nevertheless, Austria has offered to host a follow up
conference to the Oslo meeting this fall, says ORF radio.


Iran Defies UN




5. The standoff between the United Nations and Iran over Iran's
nuclear program has entered a new phase: A report by the
International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran failed to meet a
February 21 deadline to suspend uranium enrichment.
The report also says Iran is expanding its program, defying a UN
resolution of December 2006. For its part, Iran said the UN call for
it to stop its nuclear program was "unacceptable" and had no legal
basis. Permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany will
meet in London Monday to discuss further sanctions against Iran. On
ORF radio, UQassador to UNVIE Gregory Schulte outlined the US
strategy on Iran: "Our goal is to convince the leadership in Tehran
to give up their nuclear weapons ambitions."
Speaking on ORF radio's early morning news Morgenjournal, US
Ambassador to UNVIE Gregory Schulte explained the US wants to
convince Tehran to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions: "We are
mounting a major diplomatic effort, not on our own, but
multilaterally, with the countries of Europe, with Russia, with
China. We're trying to convince the leadership in Tehran to change
course."
Like all Austrian media, centrist daily Die Presse reports on the
"saber rattling in the Persian Gulf." With a second US aircraft
carrier having arrived in the region, military pressure is mounting,
the daily says, and adds that military experts see this as a sign
the White House is prepared for escalation in the conflict with
Iran. However, America's tough stance is also to support the
increasingly hectic diplomatic efforts to get Iran to suspend its
uranium enrichment program. So far, the US has not made a political
decision in favor of a military confrontation with Iran. Leaking
alleged deployment plans and attack scenarios is part of
Washington's escalation strategy aimed both at browbeating Iran into
compliance and sending a message to Russia, China, and America's
European allies, the Presse suggests.


US Influence on EU Foreign Policy


6. The deputy head of the EU Social Democrats, Austrian MEP Hannes
Swoboda, says "the Americans are influencing EU foreign policy to an
ever greater extent." Swoboda is irritated that the political
positions of the EU and the US on the issue of a missile defense
shield in Europe have not been coordinated.
The deputy head of the EU Social Democrats, Austrian MEP Hannes
Swoboda, told mass-circulation daily Kurier he considers the US
decision to establish the missile defense system in Poland and the
Czech Republic a "unilateral move on the part of the Americans." The
issue is being debated in the (Social Democrats') EU foreign policy
committee, Swoboda said, stressing that the Americans' "actions in
member states is not in the EU's interests. The US is influencing
the EU's foreign policy to an ever-greater extent." The absence of
US and EU coordination on missile defense policies is equally
irritating: "This is a go-it-alone operation by the US." Another
issue demonstrating how the EU is being "steamrollered" by the US is
the nuclear row with Iran, Swoboda explains: "The dispute is driving
the (EU) member states into the Americans' arms, including neutral
Austria" which could involve Austria directly or indirectly in a
conflict; a role incompatible with that of a neutral state, the MEP
says. Swoboda is calling for an open debate of such issues in
Austria, and urges Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik to officially
state Austria's misgivings regarding the US missile defense plans
with her EU colleagues.


US Soldier Sentenced to Jail Term


7. A US soldier who served in Iraq has been sentenced to one hundred
years in a military detention facility. 24-year-old Sgt. Paul E.
Cortez pled guilty to the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi
girl and to killing her family. He also received a dishonorable
discharge under a plea agreement with prosecutors, ORF radio early
morning news Morgenjournal reports.


Coalition Partners BaQProdi


8. In Italy, party leaders from the center-left coalition have
agreed to support Romano Prodi's bid to stay on as Prime Minister.
The apparent agreement came a day after Prodi resigned when he lost
a key Senate vote on his foreign policy. Several of his coalition
partners had opposed Italian troop deployments in Afghanistan and
his plans to expand a US air base in Italy, writes ORF online news.

McCaw