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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