VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #1227/01 1181510
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281510Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3268
INFO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 2085

UNCLAS VIENNA 001227 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DOJ PLEASE PASS TO BRUCE SWARTZ, BRIAN ROEHRKASSE AND 
ANDREW BEACH; DHS PLEASE PASS TO DENNIS SEQUEIRA, MARC 
SOREL AND CYNTHIA BERGMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EUN PREL PTER AU
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR THE MAY 3-5 VISIT BY THE ATTORNEY 
GENERAL AND THE DHS DEPUTY SECRETARY 
 
REF: A. VIENNA 1224 
     ¶B. VIENNA 540 
 
CORRECTED COPY OF VIENNA 1224.  CHANGES IN REFERENCE LINE AND 
PARAGRAPH 18. 
 
---------------- 
Welcome To Vienna 
----------------- 
 
¶1.  (U) The Austrians are looking forward to your attendance, 
and that of Deputy Secretary Jackson, at the May 3-5 JHA 
Ministerials.  These meetings constitute one of the more 
significant events of the six-month Austrian Presidency of 
the European Council. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Austrian-U.S. relations have a solid base in the 
common values of democracy and civil rights.  Austria's 
international activities contribute to our shared vision of a 
world of peace, freedom, democracy and prosperity.  Austria 
holds the rotating Presidency of the EU Council for the first 
half of 2006, giving us the opportunity to work with the 
government at an unusually high level of intensity. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Within the traditional "honest broker" role of the 
EU Presidency country, Austria has used its  chairmanship of 
EU organs to focus attention on the economic and social 
development of the western Balkans.  Austria plays a vital 
role in international peacekeeping missions there and 
elsewhere.  Austria especially stresses its engagement with 
the new EU member states to its east.  In addition, Austria 
is promoting the U.S.-EU Transatlantic Partnership -- in 
particular its economic aspects -- during its presidency. 
Austria looks forwards to hosting the U.S.-EU summit in 
Vienna this June. 
 
-------------------- 
The JHA Ministerials 
-------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The initial May 3 U.S.-EU Ministerial meeting is a 
follow-on to the ministerial with European leaders that you 
and Secretary Chertoff co-hosted in Washington last October. 
Your primary host for this event will be Austrian Minister of 
the Interior Liese Prokop.  Minister of Justice Karin 
Gastinge will co-host.  You last met both of them in October 
2005 in Washington. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The second ministerial on the morning of May 4 will 
be the first-ever U.S.-Russia-EU multi-presidency meeting. 
This will focus on JHA-related issues such as combatting 
terrorism and organized crime and corruption.  Russian 
participants will include Minister of the Interior Nurgaliev, 
FSB Director Patrushev and Presidential adviser Viktor 
Ivanov. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The final piece of the puzzle will be a massive 
EU-sponsored gathering of Ministers of the Interior from 27 
EU member states and aspirants, plus those countries which 
border the European Union and which are the focus of the EU's 
new neighborhood policy.  The Austrians proposed this 
meeting, and it is still a work in progress.  The Austrians 
initially invited some 70 ministers, but now expect only half 
that number to attend.  This offers the opportunity to meet 
bilaterally with some of your colleagues on the margins of 
the conference. 
 
------------------- 
Political Situation 
------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel's Austrian People's 
Party (OVP) governs Austria in coalition with the Alliance 
Future Austria (BZO).  Schuessel faces parliamentary 
elections in fall 2006.  He remains more popular than his 
party, which has lost a series of state elections since 
taking office in 2000.  However, the opposition Social 
Democrats, who have led in polls for more than a year, have 
suffered from the fallout of large speculation losses in a 
bank the Trade Union Association owns.  The election, once an 
uphill battle for Schuessel, now appears to be a tossup. 
Still, Schuessel cannot hope to form a new government with 
his current coalition partner, which is in the process of 
disintegration.   Many observers expect the elections to 
result in a grand coalition of the People's Party and the 
 
Social Democrats, but a coalition of either of the major 
parties with the Greens is also a possibility. 
 
------------------------------- 
Promoting Democracy and Freedom 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Under Schuessel, Austria has played an active role 
in advancing freedom and stability in the southeastern 
Europe.  Austria's foreign policy agenda for the presidency 
starts in the Balkans, where Schuessel has been a solid 
partner for the U.S.  Austria assumed a EUFOR command in 
Bosnia on November 30, 2005.   The government has placed no 
caveats on the use of its 600 troops in Kosovo and over 300 
troops in Bosnia.  As EU Council President, Schuessel has 
facilitated progress on status questions in Kosovo and 
elsewhere.  Austrian diplomats are playing key roles, working 
closely with the U.S. and with UN Special Envoy Martti 
Ahtisaari.  A broader area of emphasis for the Austrian 
presidency is the EU's "New Neighborhood" policy.  The 
Austrians have sought to promote democracy and reform in 
Belarus and share U.S. views on dictator Lukashenko. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Austria has made modest but important contributions 
to stability in Iraq: police trainers at the Iraqi Police 
Academy in Jordan, humanitarian aid, substantial debt relief, 
and offers of export credit guarantees.   The Foreign 
Ministry has sent a Special Envoy to Baghdad for the duration 
of Austria's EU Presidency.  Austria has twice sent troops to 
Afghanistan, most recently in fall 2005 to assist the German 
Provincial Reconstruction Team in Konduz with election 
security. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) In the Broader Middle East, Austria has encouraged 
the identification of common values as a response to 
extremism.  In November, Austria kicked off its presidency by 
hosting a conference on "Islam in a Pluralistic World," which 
Iraqi and Afghan Presidents Talabani and Karzai attended. 
This event reinforced the message of the Bahrain Forum for 
the Future conference and supported our broad goals.  The 
Austrian presidency has also led the EU effort to encourage 
dialogue with the Muslim world in the wake of the Danish 
cartoon controversy.  In this connection, Austria will also 
host an April 7-9 Conference of European Imams, which EU 
Commission President Barroso plans to attend. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Economic Prosperity and Development 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Austrian business, especially in the financial 
sector, has delivered real benefits to the area between 
Austria and the Russian border.  Austrian banks are important 
in the region, holding almost a quarter share of the region's 
banking sector.  The stability they bring has been a basis 
for commercial investment and development.  USG officials 
have been actively working with Austrian government and 
financial interlocutors on issues of concern relating to 
illicit finance, anti-money laundering/counter-terrorist 
financing and WMD proliferation in the region. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) The Austrian bank Raiffeisen has found itself in 
the spotlight because its subsidiary, Raiffeisen 
International AG (RIAG), was instrumental in the January 
natural gas deal between Russia and Ukraine.  RUE was key in 
"unblocking" the dispute.  RIAG serves as a trustee for two 
beneficial owners in the RUE joint venture with Gazprom.  On 
April 25, RIAG confirmed that the beneficial owners were 
Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash and Ukrainian banker 
Ivan Fursin.  The Austrian press has speculated that Firtash 
is a close associate of Semyon Mogilevich, who is under 
indictment in the U.S. for money laundering. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) The Austrians are skeptical on Turkish EU 
membership, but have allowed accession talks to proceed. 
However, Schuessel has repeatedly emphasized that Turkey must 
meet all criteria for membership.  Further, in his view, the 
EU also has a lot of "homework" still to do before it will be 
ready to absorb Turkey as a member state. 
 
¶14.  (SBU) Austrian firms have sought a strong presence in 
the Middle East.  Austrian business has made strides in 
reestablishing itself in Iraq, and the Austrian government 
opened a small Trade Office in Erbil in December.  Austrian 
Airlines was planning to become the first western airline to 
 
institute regular flights to Iraq, but has postponed its 
inaugural flight because of the security situation there. 
Austrian development policy focuses on Official Development 
Assistance, committing resources to a few "priority 
countries" in order to maximize impact.  The Austrians prefer 
to channel emergency response through the EU, although they 
made generous bilateral offers for assistance after Hurricane 
Katrina. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Austria has traditionally had close commercial 
relations with Iran.  An Austrian arms manufacturer sold 
high-power sniper rifles to Iran in 2005 before the Austrian 
government halted further deliveries.  Iran recently shelved 
plans to open a large trade center in the Austrian state of 
Burgenland because of start-up difficulties. 
 
--------------- 
Security Agenda 
--------------- 
 
¶16.  (SBU) Austria is a strong partner in stemming financial 
flows to terrorists.  Our law enforcement cooperation with 
Austria has generally been flexible and effective.  The 
Austrian government has made anti-corruption and law 
enforcement cooperation a cornerstone of the presidency. 
Austria had previously taken the lead for the EU in 
coordinating law enforcement activities in Central and 
Eastern Europe and Central Asia.  Working with EU External 
Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, a former 
Austrian Foreign Minister (and Schuessel protege), the 
Austrian EU presidency is encouraging stability and 
development in the region. 
 
-------------- 
DOJ Activities 
-------------- 
 
¶17.  (SBU)  The Legal Attache's Office has established an 
excellent working relationship with Austrian law enforcement 
officials.  The office provided training and assistance to 
many senior officers, including Dr. Gert Rene Polli, Director 
of the Austrian Federal Office for the Protection of the 
Constitution and for Counterterrorism (BVT), who visited FBI 
headquarters in October 2005 and received special briefings 
on FBI Counterterrorism investigations.  The Legal Attache's 
office also organized an Austrian BKA mission to New Orleans 
in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  In February 2006 Dr. 
Herwig Haidinger, Director of the Austrian Federal Criminal 
Office (BKA), visited Washington, San Diego and New York on a 
trip which included discussions on counter-terrorism, 
homeland security and Transnational and Organized Crime with 
the FBI.  This April, the Legal Attache office hosted a 
Terrorist Financing seminar in Budapest for the Austrian BVT 
and other EU member countries.  In addition, the Legal 
Attache hosted two other Counterterrorism seminars for 
Austrians and EU partners in the fall of 2005 in Washington. 
To date, 36 officers from the BKA and 4 from the BVT have 
attended the FBI National Academy. 
 
-------------- 
DHS Activities 
-------------- 
 
¶18.  (SBU)  The DHS/ICE office in Vienna services 13 
countries in the region.  Cooperation with Austrian law 
enforcement authorities is excellent and several 
investigations into organized crime groups involved in human 
trafficking/smuggling and child exploitation are ongoing. 
There have been recent successes in working with the Austrian 
government in the area of prevention and transfer of WMD and 
licensable technology being illegally smuggled through the 
region.  The ICE Attache recently coordinated Operation 
Falcon, involving the execution of more than 120 search 
warrants in Austria on individuals suspected of child 
exploitation. Further investigation involve money laundering 
by two Austrians that defrauded European investors of over 
$50 million are ongoing.  The office is overseeing several 
high profile Balkan War Crimes offenders currently living in 
the United States.  With direct flights to the United States, 
the ICE Attache office coordinates with Austrian Border 
Control regarding Customs and Border Protection issues and 
investigations of passport and identity fraud that occur on 
an almost daily basis. 
 
¶19.  (SBU)  The DHS/CIS office covers a wide range of 
 
immigration services and benefits functions covering a 
13-country area of Eastern Europe.  Petitions and waiver 
applications adjudicated by CIS include:  orphan/adoption 
applications, waivers of inadmissibility, requests for 
abandonment of resident status, immediate relative petitions 
and appeals associated with these applications.  There is 
also a sizeable refugee caseload of Iranian religious 
minorities that are interviewed and adjudicated by the CIS 
staff.  In fiscal year 2006 CIS will process approximately 
2,000 refugees for resettlement in the United States. 
Kilner