Austria

Anger and division in Austria as lockdown returns
As Austria becomes the first European country to reintroduce lockdown, the people are taking to the streets in protest – and it’s not just far-right extremists, but families too, writes Melissa Eddy. Daniel Zeman wasn’t able to sell any of his handmade apple and ginger liqueur last year during the Christmas season because Austria, along with the rest of Europe, was in lockdown. He fina [...]
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Austria news  — RT
Follow RT to get the latest news and updates from Austria, including politics, culture, sport and weather. Austria is a country in Europe, the capital of which is Vienna. It has a border with, and is historically close to, Germany. Austria is one of the largest economies and world’s richest state by per capita in GDP terms. Find news on the economy, finance and market in Austria. [...]
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No fear of reprisal, but need for dialogue: Austria on not expelling Russian diplomats
Vienna refused to expel Russian diplomats not because it feared reprisal, but because it stands for open dialogue, Austria’s foreign minister said, decrying the UK’s attempts to lure the country into taking “certain measures.” Austria refrained from expelling Russian diplomats earlier this week, in contrast to its EU neighbors, who chose to rely on the UK’s assertion that Russia was behi [...]
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London Tried to Exert Pressure On Vienna in Skripal Case – Austrian Minister
The Western response to the Salisbury poison attack on ex-Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal is clear, but not unanimous. Austria, alongside some other European countries, has refused to expel Russian diplomats, though Vienna expressed "unqualified solidarity with the UK." The British ambassador to Austria repeatedly expressed a demarche to Vienna because of the Austrian side's refusal to [...]
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Austria refuses to expel Russian diplomats as EU countries jump on UK-led bandwagon
Vienna chose not to expel Russian diplomats as a response to the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal, saying it wants to keep dialogue with Moscow open. Some European opposition figures say the move will only create problems. Despite more than a dozen European nations expelling Russian diplomats over the Skripal case, not every nation or politician is on board. Dissenting voices are starting [...]
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Moscow Vows Response to Expulsion of Diplomats From European States, US, Canada
Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Germany, France, Denmark, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Canada, Romania, Finland, Croatia, Albania, Sweden, Spain and the US have decided to expel Russian diplomats amid the Skripal case. "We express a decisive protest over the decision taken by a number of EU and NATO countries to expel Russian diplomats. [...]
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Austria Summons Diplomat From Israel Over ‘Nazi’ T-Shirt
This is not the first episode involving the attaché, who has been summoned by Austria's Foreign Ministry, as he had previously posted a photo of his grandfather in a Nazi uniform with a swastika on social media. Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has summoned Juergen-Michael Kleppich, an attaché from the country's embassy in Israel, "to clarify the circumstances and to submit to a legal pr [...]
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Austrian FPO Party Seeks Italian Lega’s Help in Closing E Alps Migration Route
MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) congratulated Italy’s Lega party on achieving great results in the election, expressing hope that both parties would succeed in closing the Brenner Pass on the Italian-Austrian border, a migrant route in the eastern Alps, Roman Haider, the FPO’s foreign policy spokesman, told Sputnik on Monday. [...]
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Dozens Detained in Austria For Drug Dealing Involving Underage Migrants – Police
The 2015 migration crisis sparked an intense debate about the security situation in Austria, which is still acute in the country. Earlier in January, Austrian interior minister Herbert Kickl said that the government is going to tighten its asylum policy, citing the increased crime rate among asylum seekers last year as a reason for the decision. [...]
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Austrian govt calls for ‘restrictive asylum policy’ amid growing foreign crime rate
The number of crimes committed by “foreigners” in Austria increased to 40 percent of the total in 2016, a new government report says. Interior Minister Herbert Kickl says a “strict asylum policy” is needed to tackle the issue. [...]
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Austria’s New Government: Kurz ‘Was Forced to Make Too Many Concessions’
While the German SPD and CSU parties are struggling to form a new grand coalition during tough negotiations, Austria has already successfully formed its new government despite the fact that Vienna held its parliamentary election three weeks after Berlin. [...]
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‘Well-Known EU Critic’: Meet Karin Kneissl, Austria’s Future FM
The politician is notorious for her controversial statements on the migration crisis and her critical stance toward the EU. The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be run by Middle East expert Karin Kneissl, who repeatedly criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies, made tough statements regarding migration and called Jean-Claude Juncker "cynical" and "arrogant," according to the A [...]
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Turkey Slams Austrian Gov’t That is Seeking to Freeze Ankara’s EU Bid
According to the Austrian government’s program, Vienna vows to end Turkey’s EU membership negotiations. Ankara has expressed strong protest over the program of the new Austrian government that has vowed to halt Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. [...]
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Will Austria and Hungary Form a New Powerhouse in Europe?
Hungary has signaled its readiness to develop closer ties with the new Austrian government. Speaking to Sputnik, Norbert Freiherr van Handel, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, called for full-fledged cooperation between Vienna and the member states of what was once known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire. [...]
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‘He is Well Aware of His Power’: Meet Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s Chancellor-To Be
Austria's 31-year old Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is expected to become one of the youngest world leaders in modern history. In an interview with Sputnik, political analysts have described him as a very hard-working and charismatic person and shared their opinion on his personality. [...]
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Rise of the right: Austria’s election results & their implications for Europe
The resounding success of two anti-immigrant parties in the Austrian elections, with the right-wing Freedom Party (FPO) delivering one of the strongest performances in more than a decade, is a direct result of Europe’s open border policies, analysts say. According to the preliminary results published by the Austrian interior ministry, Kurz’s conservative People’s Party (OVP) has taken a clea [...]
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Sebastian Kurz, most talented Austrian leader since WWII, will toughen immigration laws – analysts
Kurz was responsible for closing the Western Balkan immigration route, from Turkey to Germany and to Scandinavia, explains Werner Fasslabend of the Austrian Institute for European Policy & Security. Political scientist Heinz Gaertner also gives his insight. The results of Sunday's Austrian parliamentary elections show a clear shift to the right. [...]
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‘Revenge motives’: Immigrant killed elderly Austrian couple over alleged far-right links, police say
“Revenge and political motives” drove a 54-year-old Tunisian immigrant to plot and execute the murder of an elderly Austrian couple over their alleged sympathy towards a far-right party, local police said. [...]
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‘Putin-Merkel Meeting Sends a Strong Signal to the World’
The very fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have held negotiations after a long hiatus is a positive signal, Russian academic Vadim Trukhachev told Radio Sputnik, adding that Merkel's visit to Sochi may have become a step toward lifting sanctions on Russia. [...]
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