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Putin likely to discuss gas pipeline

Russian President Vladimir Putin will seek to exploit disagreement within a deeply divided EU over a Kremlin-backed gas pipeline as he looks to seal Vienna's support for the project during a visit to Austria next week.

Published: 20 June 2014 16:39 CEST
Putin likely to discuss gas pipeline
OMV, Austria's oil and gas producer. File photo: APA
During the one-day trip on Tuesday Putin will oversee the signing of a shareholder agreement between Gazprom and energy firm OMV enabling them to press on with work to build a section of the planned South Stream pipeline in Austria, Putin's top foreign policy aide said on Friday.
 
The Russian president is expected to use the opportunity to try to secure Vienna's backing for the Gazprom-led pipeline after another EU member involved in the project, Bulgaria, suspended work on it earlier this month under pressure from the EU, Putin's aide Yury Ushakov said.
 
"The issue needs to be clarified," Ushakov told reporters. "It's obvious that the topic will be discussed in this context. It's a very important subject."
 
With the deadly crisis in Ukraine showing no sign of abating, the multi-billion-euro pipeline intended to bring Siberian gas to Europe has become a new focus of tensions between Moscow and Brussels.
 
Moscow bills the pipeline as a recipe to ensure European energy security and has accused Brussels of pressuring Bulgaria into suspending work on South Stream in order to seek revenge over the Kremlin's alleged role in supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine.
 
The European Commission has called on all 28 member states to stand united in resisting pressure from the Kremlin over the project, saying the contracts Gazprom has signed on pipeline breach the bloc's competition rules.

But the EU member states appears deeply divided on the project with several states that depend on Russian gas transported via Ukraine supporting it.

Austria, Slovenia express support

Austria and Slovenia on Friday voiced support for the pipeline, saying it will ensure a stable energy supply.

"I believe that the South Stream project is the right and possible path to ensure a mid-term energy supply sustainability", Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said after meeting his Slovenian and Croatian counterparts.

"Austria in principle backs the South Stream project … and we believe it should be carried out for the mid- and long-term sustainable supply of natural gas," said Faymann who is set to meet Putin for talks on Tuesday.

Prime Minister of Slovenia Alenka Bratusek struck a similar note, calling South Stream "a vital infrastructure project."

"There are still some technical issues that remain open and have to be solved with the EU," she added.

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said last week his country, which is a candidate for EU membership, would press on with plans to build Serbia's stretch of the pipeline.
 
Backed by Italy's ENI and France's EDF, the South Stream pipeline is a major project for reducing Moscow's reliance on Ukraine as a transit country following disputes with Kiev in 2006 and 2009 that led to interruptions of shipments to Europe.
With a capacity of 63 billion cubic metres per year, the main pipeline will stretch nearly 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles) from Russia under the Black Sea to Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia to end in Italy.
 
Analysts said that while the pipeline will remain hostage to persisting tensions over Ukraine, Austria could help salvage Moscow's flagship project.
 
"Austria is a more prominent EU member than Bulgaria, its voice will be taken into account," said Valery Nesterov, an oil and gas analyst at Sberbank CIB.
 
After the latest round of EU-brokered Moscow-Kiev gas talks collapsed, Russia earlier this week suspended gas supplies to Ukraine and warned Brussels that deliveries to Europe could be interrupted.

Moscow-based political analyst Alexei Mukhin said Brussels appears ready to sacrifice its economic interests for the sake of teaching Russia a lesson.

"Europe needs South Stream," he said. "But the European Commission will find a way to put it on ice."

Separately, during his Austria trip Putin will meet with OSCE chairman Didier Burkhalter to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

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MIGRANT CRISIS

How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

The number of asylum applications has dropped in Austria, but changes in the profile of those arriving are creating new demands and new policies.

Published: 22 April 2024 16:05 CEST
How a change in the profile of asylum seekers is impacting Austria

Asylum policy is a controversial topic in Austria, especially in an election year. The far-right has been pushing its anti-immigration agenda to gather support ahead of federal elections later this year.

While the sheer number of refugees can shape an election, differences in who those refugees are and where they come from also create challenges and demands for government action.

The profile of those seeking asylum in Austria has changed compared to recent years.

In the first quarter of 2024, almost a third of asylum applications came from children between the ages of zero and seven, as Austrian media has reported.

Around 53 percent of applicants are minors, and the proportion of women seeking asylum has also risen significantly. However, the overall number of asylum applications during the period fell by 32 percent compared to the same period the year before. 

Whereas 2023 most asylum applications in Austria were from males (only around 24 percent of applications were submitted by women), the country is now experiencing the “family reunification” phenomenon. In other words the wifes and children are following to seek protection.

Asylum applicants are still mostly from Syria and Afghanistan – two nationalities with a high chance of obtaining protection in Austria. Only 30 percent of applications from Syrians were rejected, whereas for Afghans 39 percent were refused.

READ ALSO: Border centres and ‘safe’ states: The EU’s major asylum changes explained

What does the change in profile mean for Austria?

One immediate consequence of the influx of children has already been seen in Vienna, the destination of most refugees: the school system is overwhelmed with the new arrivals, as several Austrian newspapers have reported in the last few weeks.

“This is putting such a strain on the system that high-quality teaching is hardly possible any more,” Thomas Krebs, a union representative, told Kurier. According to the report, around 300 children will arrive in Vienna every month, resulting in a need for 140 classes by the end of the school year. 

The Austrian capital was already overwhelmed by a shortage of teachers and an overflow of schoolchildren—particularly since the war in Ukraine, when 4,000 children were integrated into Vienna’s schools from February 2022.

The kids coming from Syria also need more support than merely German classes: “The Syrian children who come to us from refugee camps are a particular challenge for the system. Many are traumatised and often not even literate in their own language,” Krebs said.

He added that children need to spend more time in kindergarten—to learn “the basics, not just the language.” The education expert also believes it’s necessary to invest more in extracurricular activities, where young people can learn German, acquire behavioural skills that are important for school, and learn how to spend their free time meaningfully.

READ ALSO: What’s the reason behind the drop in Austrian asylum seeker claims?

What is Vienna doing?

Vienna’s Department of Education points out that new teachers are being recruited. In the current academic year, 2,400 teachers have been hired, Kurier reported.

Director of Education Heinrich Himmer said: “We support pupils and face the challenges together so that learning and living together work well. I would like to thank everyone who works so hard in Vienna’s schools. However, the responsibility for integration is an all-Austrian one, where solutions exist at the federal level.”

How does family reunification work?

There is a special process for granting family reunification rights for family members of refugees in Austria. 

According to information from the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, if a foreigner has been granted asylum status in Austria, family members can apply for an entry permit at an Austrian representation authority abroad within three months of this status being granted.

If this is granted, they can travel to Austria to apply for asylum in the family procedure and receive the same protection status as the reference person. If the application is only submitted after three months, they must also provide proof of adequate accommodation, health insurance, and income.

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