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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