2023-05-09 17:00:25
Africa strategy should be available before the summer
Vienna (PK) – Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg met today in the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council for a better coordinated foreign policy of the EU countries. If you look at the visit diplomacy of the foreign ministers of the 27 EU countries in recent years, you can see that there are large white spots on the map. This also applies to important conferences. If everyone visits the same countries or takes care of the same trouble spots, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Europe has difficulties in making its positions heard. In connection with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine, there was also “a battle of narratives,” said Schallenberg, making it all the more important to “declare Europe’s attitude to the war internationally.” An exchange at eye level with the countries of the Global South is needed in order not to leave the field to the narrative of Russia or other narratives. Against this background, Schallenberg announced a corresponding initiative at EU level.
Schallenberg sees the fact that two-thirds of Ukraine has been under air alert in recent days as proof that Russia sees the entire Ukraine as a target. Austria will of course continue to support Ukraine, he assured. In this context, he also emphasized that Austria is “number 1” in humanitarian aid.
Schallenberg described the situation in the Western Balkans as still “volatile”. Progress has been made in recent years, but there is a lot going on beneath the surface, he warned. Europe must therefore continue to place a special focus on the region. The Western Balkans are the “geo-strategic elk test” for the EU, said Schallenberg: if it fails there, EU foreign policy as a whole will not progress either. One must also be careful that the Western Balkans are not “standing on the breakdown lane” while Ukraine is granted a fast lane for EU accession. That would be massively against the geostrategic interests of the EU.
As far as the Africa strategy announced by Chancellor Karl Nehammer is concerned, Schallenberg was confident that he would be able to present it before the summer. He announced that it would also include future topics such as energy or digitization. He emphasized that Africa should not be reduced to issues such as humanitarian aid or migration. According to Schallenberg, it is still unclear where the government’s special representative for Africa will be located.
Furthermore, Schallenberg considers it necessary to pay more attention to the Indo-Pacific region as a potential trouble spot. It is important to forge strong partnerships in the region in good time, he said. In addition, as an export nation, Austria should not lose sight of the largest growth region in the world. At the same time, there is a diversification of imports, with Vietnam, South Korea and India playing a key role. According to Schallenberg, you have to broaden your perspective both politically and economically.
Other topics discussed included the situation in Sudan, the situation of women in Afghanistan, the Lipa refugee camp in Bosnia and various international trouble spots.
Different positions on the war in Ukraine
On the part of the MPs, Martin Engelberg (ÖVP) and Helmut Brandstätter (NEOS), among others, emphasized the need to continue supporting Ukraine. Austria is only militarily but not politically neutral, Engelberg reiterated. According to his personal experience, this is also “very much appreciated”.
Brandstätter described today’s speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany as “very depressing”. He said he had never experienced so much denial of reality in politics. According to Putin, the West is attacking Russia together with the Nazis. But it was also noticeable that Putin seemed “incredibly weak”. Brandstätter has no sympathy for the FPÖ’s position on the war: he hopes that during the next planned visit by the Austro-Ukrainian friendship group, FPÖ MPs will also go to Ukraine to see for themselves. With regard to Armenia, Brandstätter regretted that there is still no Austrian embassy there.
On the other hand, the two FPÖ MPs Axel Kassegger and Christian Hafenecker continued to criticize Austria’s Russia policy. Instead of calling for an immediate cessation of the armed conflict in Sudan, it would be more expedient and more obvious for Austria to advocate an immediate ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, explained Kassegger, referring to a motion for a resolution before the committee. Many countries outside of Europe see the “Russia-Ukraine war” from a “more neutral point of view” and Austria should take this as a model. According to Hafenecker, Austria’s military neutrality has long since ceased to exist. According to him, Foreign Minister Schallenberg’s statement that not every country that does not support sanctions against Russia can also be seen as understanding Putin must also apply to domestic parties.
Kassegger also criticized the Austrian aid for the Ukraine and demanded an immediate stop of the payments, which according to him now amount to €1.8 billion. The FPÖ is concerned that the money will not be used “quite appropriately”. The money should instead be used for tax cuts in Austria. He also misses an interest in a serious investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline.
SPÖ criticizes the handling of opposition applications on development cooperation
SPÖ party leader and committee chair Pamela Rendi-Wagner expressed concern about the security of the Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhia and called on Schallenberg to actively promote a security agreement between Russia and Ukraine. The International Atomic Energy Agency is increasingly talking about an unpredictable situation around the nuclear power plant, she outlined. The situation in Sudan is also causing Rendi-Wagner headaches: In her estimation, the looming civil war could sweep an entire region down.
Rendi-Wagner and her parliamentary colleague Petra Bayr criticized the coalition parties’ handling of opposition proposals on development cooperation. They criticized that the responsible development cooperation subcommittee had only met twice in this legislative period. In addition, there were almost no requests to speak in the last committee on the concerns of the opposition. Bayr also pushed for humanitarian visas for threatened women in Afghanistan and called for concrete steps by Austria in connection with Iran’s crackdown on demonstrators and regime critics.
NEOS MP Henrike Brandstötter also complained that the EZA subcommittee was not taken seriously. In her opinion, Europe should also consider leaving the negotiations in Sudan to the US.
Greens fear internment of refugees in Bosnia
Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic (Greens) pointed out that some trouble spots had recently receded into the background in public perception and referred to the situation in Afghanistan and Myanmar in this context. Hardly anyone took notice of the fact that at least 100 civilians had recently been killed by military attacks in Myanmar. Aside from the situation of the women on the ground in Afghanistan, one also hears “outrageous things” about the Taliban exerting pressure on the diaspora.
In addition, Ernst-Dziedzic addressed the Lipa refugee camp in western Bosnia. She fears that the internment wing under construction there could also house asylum seekers who are not guilty of anything. At the same time, a small Austrian NGO is being “intimidated” by lawsuits. Austria should not look away from push-backs on the Balkan borders, but must show it, she warned. Her parliamentary colleague Faika El-Nagashi raised the issue of human trafficking, noting that human trafficking – such as labor exploitation, organ trafficking and surrogacy – is increasingly embedded in society.
Schallenberg does not rule out Austria’s participation in mine detection assistance in the Ukraine
In answer to the questions, Foreign Minister Schallenberg confirmed, among other things, Austria’s military neutrality. He emphasized that there was no money from the Austrian side for ammunition deliveries to Ukraine. He also does not consider it legitimate to associate approved arms transports through Austria with Ukraine or neutrality. The €1.8 billion for Ukraine aid mentioned by the FPÖ is a mystery to him – according to him, €129 million has been provided for bilateral humanitarian aid and €153 million for EU financial aid so far. Schallenberg also considers the comparison between Ukraine and Sudan to be inadmissible: it makes a difference whether one state attacks another or whether there are fights between two groups in one country. The minister is opposed to any use of banned weapons such as cluster munitions or uranium munitions.
Speaking to MP Brandstätter, Schallenberg did not rule out Austria’s participation in mine detection assistance in the Ukraine via the OSCE in the future, but does not consider it sensible to do so during ongoing military conflicts. According to him, he sees the topic of sports boycotts in a similar way to Vice Chancellor and Sports Minister Werner Kogler, although he opposed the general exclusion of athletes who have a Russian passport from the Olympic Games.
According to Schallenberg, the conflict in Sudan has shown how important an international network of representation is. With the help of Germany and the Netherlands, among others, it was possible to get all Austrians who wanted to get out of the country. This affected a total of 55 people, including 27 children.
In the direction of FPÖ MP Martin Graf, Schallenberg made it clear that there had been no debt relief for Sudan. He had connected the military conflicts in the country with such a debt relief and was critical of it.
Regarding the situation in Afghanistan, Schallenberg emphasized that Europe must build on the Muslim world. This will most likely find a hearing with the Taliban. He also expressly condemned the attacks in Myanmar, saying that clarification was needed here. According to him, there is no change in the Austrian position on Western Sahara, Austria continues to support the UN efforts. The minister described the regime in Iran as very difficult – due to the impending imprisonment of travelers, a travel warning had been issued for the country for the first time in decades.
According to Schallenberg, Austria is in no way involved in the construction of an internment wing in the Lipa refugee camp. He wants to measure Turkey by whether election observers will be allowed into the country for the upcoming elections. Schallenberg is also targeting additional Austrian embassies – but this requires sustainable financing commitments. (continued Foreign Relations Committee) gs
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