Austria Betrays Its Dependence on Russia

CNSNews.com ^ | 08/30/2007

[Tailgunner Joe]

Prague (CNSNews.com) - Austria's defense minister raised eyebrows recently when he claimed that the proposed U.S. ballistic missile defense shield to be based in Eastern Europe is a provocation.

The remark has generated considerable speculation here over vested economic interests and dependence on Russian supplies.

Defense Minister Norbert Darabos' assessment of the plan, which calls for the deployment of a radar facility in the Czech Republic and interceptor missiles in Poland, echoes the position of Russia, which strongly opposes the BMD shield.

Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg reacted to Darabos' remarks with scorn. Schwarzenberg noted that Austria has maintained a policy of neutrality while conveniently surrounded by NATO members, and that Austria and Russia have significant mutual economic interests.

Schwarzenberg told an Austrian newspaper this week that there is no such thing as "Eastern Europe." Such geopolitical terms only imply that the countries from the former Soviet bloc have to be careful not to harm Russian interests in the region, he argued.

The Czech newspaper Hospodarske noviny questioned Austria's chosen path of neutrality and nuclear-free energy, which only increased the country's dependence on Russia, it said.

Austria enshrined neutrality in its constitution in 1955, and recent polls indicate that 77 percent of Austrians approve of the stance.

Although the option of joining NATO still exists in Vienna's defense and security doctrine, following a debate on the issue this week Darabos proposed that the option be abolished.

Arthur Rachwald of the Vienna Diplomatic Academy, a prestigious international relations school, told Hospodarske noviny that because of its heavy dependence on Russian energy supplies, Vienna may even give up its sovereignty.

Austria's largest oil-producing company OMV had signed a cooperation agreement with Russian energy giant Gazprom and the Czech press has reported on speculation that Russia wants to buy Austria's stake in OMV.

(In contrast, the Czech energy company CEZ has been trying to fend off attempts by Gazprom to participate in its privatization.)

Russia's economic interests in Austria go beyond energy, and are growing. During a visit to Austria in May Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly signed business contracts for as estimated three billion euros ($4.1bn).

Czech and Austrian media have reported that Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska - who is considered to be close to Putin - has become the co-owner of Austria's largest construction company, Strabag. This week, Deripaska's bid for a $1.54 billion investment in the auto parts giant Magna International was approved by shareholders. The Canadian company has an assembly plant in Austria.

'Sphere of influence'

The U.S. argues that the BMD system is needed to protect against potential missile attack from Iran, and not against the Russian missile arsenal.

Moscow says it will affect the regional military balance, although many analysts believe the real reason for Russia's opposition has to do with its attempts to regain influence in the former Warsaw Pact area.

Oldrich Cerny, executive director of the Prague Security Studies Institute, told Cybercast News Service that Darabos' remark on the BMD system shows that there are still people in Central Europe who view the region as part of the Russian sphere of influence, and that even some governmental officials tend to forget that the Cold War has ended.

Cerny noted that not only Austria, but also other countries in the region such as Slovakia and Hungary are also dependent on Russian energy supplies.

"We should not accept that foreign policy is being dictated by dependency on oil," he said.

The Czech Republic is less dependent on Russian energy supplies as a result of decisions in the early 1990s to choose Norwegian gas supplies, Cerny noted.

"At that time, there were many people against Norwegian gas and in fact two different schemes competed -- the one was Norwegian gas, the other was called "the Czech way."

"The only problem with the 'Czech way' was that it was in fact 100 percent 'Russian way.' Eventually the arguments of reason prevailed," he said.

Although the Austrian government has distanced itself from Darabos' comments, political analysts here raised concerns that the dispute over the planned U.S. radar installation may add to existing strains on Czech-Austrian relations.

Vienna has strong reservations about the Czech Temelin nuclear power plant, located just sixty kilometers from the Austrian border.

Austrian environmentalists say the plant is unsafe, and Austrian opponents of Temelin have threatened to blockade border crossings in mid-September.

Earlier this week Mohamad El-Baradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is located in Vienna, said that Austria had no reason to worry about the Temelin plant.

[GeorgefromGeorgia]

“Austria enshrined neutrality in its constitution in 1955, and recent polls indicate that 77 percent of Austrians approve of the stance.”

Austria is neutral because that was the only way the Soviets would agree to its reemergence as an undivided country.

I lived in Bavaria for four years, and loved Austria. The people there are just great. The country is beautiful and cheaper than Switzerland for a Winter vacation.

It is a shame to see it marginalized by its dependence on Russian gas.