ALPBACH NEWSEuropäisches Forum Alpbach 18. Jahrgang Nummer 11 Montag 31/08/2009 www.alpbach.org

Gut bewacht und gut gelaunt: Ban Ki-Moon begrüßt junge Leute auf der Terrasse des Kongresszentrums. Foto: Markus Prantl

At the opening of the Political Symposium Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, spoke about problem regions of the world and demanded a renewed multilateralism based on trust..

Vertrauen ist wieder eine gefragte Kategorie der Politik und besonders der internationalen Beziehungen. Der künftige Weg Europas, die Wirtschafts-krise und Konfl ikte, die als Zusammenprall der Kulturen interpretiert werden, lassen sich nur sinnvoll behandeln, wenn es gelingt, das Vertrauen in

Institutionen und Regierungen wieder zu stärken. Die Alpbacher Politischen Gespräche diskutieren nundie Ressource „Vertrauen zwischen Staaten und Menschen“. Demokratien scheinen sich an den Vertrauensverlust zwischen Regierenden und Bürgern längst gewöhnt zu haben. Dieser Vertrauensverlust stellt freilich eineGrundthese der freiheitlich-demokratischen Ordnungin Frage, nämlich: dass das demokratische System, das seine Legitimität ausschließlich von den Bür-gern erhält, die erfolgreichste und gerechteste Form politischen Handelns ist.

In der globalisierten Welt stellt Vertrauen aber auch in den internationalen Beziehungen eine wichtige Grundlage dar. „Building trust“ ist heute die Kern-aufgabe internationaler Organisationen. Denn es ist klar geworden, dass dem Ende der ideologischen Teilung der Welt vor zwanzig Jahren kein Ende der Geschichte folgte. Es war schon immer eine entscheidende Qualifi kation für Diplomaten, dasssie in der Lage sind, zum Vertrauen zwischen Staaten beizutragen. Inzwischen investieren Staaten in ihre internationale Reputation nach allen Regeln der Markenpolitik, weil das Ansehen, die positive Meinung über ei-nen Staat, ein sehr wichtiger Faktor erfolgreicher Außenpolitik geworden ist, auch Bedeutung für Sicherheitsinteressen, Wirtschaft, Tourismus, Standortpolitik hat. Im Verhältnis zwischen Staaten bedeutet Vertrauen nicht nur den Wettbewerb um Reputation, sondern vor allem auch ein Eintreten für Menschenrechte und Rechtsstaatlichkeit. „Rule of law“ zählt auf der internationalen Ebene zu jenen Grundsätzen, deren Durchsetzung nicht nur vom Völkerrecht, sondern vor allem vom Grundvertrauen in die internationale Ordnung abhängig ist. Die Alpbacher Politischen Gespräche diskutieren damit nicht mehr und nicht weniger als die Renaissance des Systems der multilateralen Zusam-menarbeit und der Vereinten Nationen. Emil Brix, Sektionsleiter für Kulturpolitik im Außenministerium, künftiger Botschafter in London, Emil Brix, Sektionsleiter für Kulturpolitik im Außenministerium, künftiger Botschafter in London, Kuratoriumsmitglied Kuratoriumsmitglied

VERTRAUEN ALS BEZIEHUNGSKAPITAL

Emil Brix über Emil Brix über internationale Aufgabeninternationale Aufgaben

Let us all be bridge builders

“A hundred years ago we would have called the weather today ‘KaiserWetter’. Now we can say it is ‘Secretary General Weather’”, joked Erhard Busek at the beginning of the Political Symposium. Michael Spindelegger, foreign minister of Austria, stated that the he wanted to make use of the Austrian Presidency of the UN Security Councilin November to raise awareness for the protection of civilians. BenitaFerrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relations and Neighbourhood Policy, talked about the role of the EU in the world. She named the three most important issues for the EU: dealing with the economic crisis, fi ghting against climatic change, especially by cooperating with emerging countries and solving regional confl icts by European Neighbourhood policy. She put emphasis on the importanceof human rights and especially women’s rights – she stated that she wanted to put this topic on the agenda of the UN in 2010.Ban Ki-Moon talked about trouble regions of the world: Sri Lanka, Darfur and Myanmar. “I have visited many countries where people have been betrayed by their governments. But we, the people, have to be able to trust in our states”, said the UN Secretary General. Another major issue of the speech was climatic change. Ban Ki-Moon pointed out the problem solving competence of the UN by quoting statistics: “We are feeding 18 million starving people every day. There are 115.000 UN soldiers all over the world engaged in peace keeping.” The UN Secretary General confi rmed the importance of the UN climate conference in Copenhagen in September and the imperative to agree on stringent measures for reduction of carbon dioxide emissions until 2020. “We need a stronger UN for better a world. We need a renewed multilateralism based on trust”, demanded Ban Ki-Moon. “Let’s start here. Let us all be bridge builders.” wri

Vaira Vike-Freiberga, Former President of the Republic of Latvia and Vice Chairper-son of the EU Refl ection group, started with looking back at her childhood, where she and her family were refugees, and compared the Europe of the forties and fi fties to the

one of today:“The end of the Second World War created a new Europe in which half of it moved in a direction of de-mocracy, freedom and prosperity. The

other half was behind an imaginary line that was not at all imaginary. Meanwhile, in the western part there was a great deal of freedom which it had acquired at the cost of a lot of blood shed over a number of years. The Europe I saw as a child was not this marvellous example of justice, prosperity, peace and harmony among different nations that tourists see nowadays. In journals I see these ‘before and after’ pictures of women. How terrible they look and then they get fi xed up and look wonderful afterwards. Every child should be shown a ‘before and after’ of Europe. I’ve always told the growing up generation: ‘You have a sacred task which is to keep the fl ame alive for the idea that Latvia one day should be free and the Baltic states should be free. You must not get caught up in your own private life and your accom-plishments’. When Europe became free again, I was thrilled and enthusiastic. And I will remain an enthusiast, no matter what mistakes Europe makes, no matter how it stumbles and no matter what kind of crisis has come and will come.”Rainer Münz, Director of the department

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Shaping How should Europe look in the year 2020? Finding an answer to this question is the job of the EU Reflection Group, consisting of twelve members. A report on their conclusions will be published in June 2010. Five of them were invited to the Matinee “Where is Europe going?” on Sunday mor-ning to discuss topics of the past, present and future. By Andreas Rossmeissl and Matthias Westhoff

Thomas Mayr-Harting, Ständiger Vertre-ter Österreichs bei den Vereinten Nationen, im Bild mit Ban Ki-moon, sagt über das fast schon traditionelle Treffen der UNO-Botschafter:

„Über Initiative des österreichischen Außen-ministeriums fi ndet nun zum dritten Mal ein „UN-Retreat“ statt. Heuer ist die Teilneh-merliste dieser Klausurtagung besonders prominent: Neben UN-Botschaftern und -Experten aus mehr als dreißig Ländern sind auch UN-Generalsekretär Ban Ki-moon, Außenminister Michael Spindelegger, die Vizepräsidentin des Roten Kreuzes und die UN-Hochkommissarin für Menschen-rechte nach Alpbach gekommen, um über einen verbesserten Schutz von Zivilisten in bewaffneten Konfl ikten nachzudenken. Ös-terreich will hier während seines Vorsitzes im Sicherheitsrat im November 2009 Fort-schritte erzielen – und da soll die Alpbacher Klausur neue Ideen liefern.Ob im Sudan, in der DR Kongo, in Sri Lan-ka oder in Gaza – überall, wo es Konfl ikte gegeben hat, waren und sind unschuldige Zivilisten die Hauptleidtragenden, vor allem Frauen und Kinder. UNO-Blauhelme, die in vielen Konfl iktzonen der Welt bestrebt sind, den Frieden zu sichern, haben eine ganz spezifi sche Verpfl ichtung, Zivilpersonen zu schützen, können diese Aufgabe, wie tragi-sche Erfahrungen der Vergangenheit gezeigt haben, oft aber nicht angemessen erfüllen. Manchmal fehlt es an klaren politischen Vorgaben; manchmal sind Ausrüstung und Ausbildung der UN-Soldaten ungenügend; manchmal fehlt es am Willen zu handeln.Generalsekretär Ban Ki-moon hat das öster-reichische Engagement in dieser Frage mit Nachdruck unterstützt. Er hat die Botschaf-ter an den großen Ruf erinnert, den sich Alpbach als „Dorf der Denker“ erworben hat. Angesichts der großen Herausforderun-gen hat er die Teilnehmer des UN-Retreat aber auch aufgefordert, dazu beizutragen, dass Alpbach auch als „Dorf des Handelns“ gesehen wird.“

Alpbach, Dorf des Handelns

Vaira Vike-Freiberga

We remember politicians for their scandals“In this fi rst panel, we are going to raise a few fundamental questions concerning this year’s topic - trust”, says Alexandra Föderl-Schmid, editor in chief of Der Standard, and chair of the fi rst panel of the Political Talks in Alpbach, “Trust between Individuals and States”. Kurt T. Dirks, Professor of Organi-zational Behaviour at Olin Business School in St. Louis, has an easy run on the topic, as he is author of the book „Three fundamental questions regarding trust“. He explains the preconditions of trust, and emphasizes the power of negative components in politics. “Athletes are well known for their success, whereas we often remember politicians for their scandals. Trust in politics is hard to gain and easily shattered.”The Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Europe’s youngest state, the Republika e Kosovës, Enver Hoxhaj, talks about the experiences with the people he visited all across the country in the last two years. “Citizens can trust a government if it is able to control itself”, is his conclusion.For Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations in Geneva, law is an imperative for trust. She fi nds the topic very timely in the background of the current fi nancial crisis, which has exposed “unprecedented acts of laissez faire, which have undermined public trust”. In her opinion, trust depends on fair application of rules. To no surprise she emphasizes the importance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.The dialogue between state and people is vital for Michael Spindelegger. The Austrian Federal Minister for European and Interna-tional Affairs raises the question why the trust in institutions got lost in the fi rst place. He thinks the role of the civil society should bestrengthened. To illustrate the potency of civilsociety, he evokes pictures of the mass demon-strations in Teheran following the last election.Eckart D. Stratenschulte, Director of the European Academy Berlin, demands new forms of participation for the population, stating this would lead to more interest and trust in politics. Trust lowers the costs in society to regulate and legislate every part of life, he says. As an example he brings up the formation of the European Union, which was not established because of mutual trust and love, but because of hatred and mistrust. However, the project helped establish trust and integration and undisputedly we all pro-fi t from this initial overcoming of distrust.Philipp Freund

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Europe’s futureResearch and Development at Erste Bank, points out that Vike-Freiberga’s story is one of 65 million Europeans, who were refugees between 1913 and 1999. He then speaks about the need of immigration nowadays:“The 21st century will be marked by an aging and declining population. In the

1950ies, the ave-rage European was just above 30 years old. In the year 2050, the average age will be 50. We have no clue how such a society will be functioning, but

we will have to make it work. That’s why we have to think about migration as one possibility to add labour force. It should be done in a way that gives us the possibility to create a win-win situation between the receiving and the sending country. But mig-ration can only be a part of the answer of an aging and declining society. Increasing the age in which we retire is also very impor-tant. This is a phony slogan as long as there is no functioning labour market for people above 50.” After Münz mentioned the issue of an aging society, Lykke Friis, Prorector of the University of Copenhagen, describes other challenges the EU will have to face in the following years:“The youth unemployment rate is rising.

That’s something we have to refl ect upon: that we do not end up with a lost generation. For many, the fact that there is now peace in Europe is not questioned. It’s

the ‘What’s next?’ question we have to deal with in this Refl ection Group. When you look at the opinion polls regarding the Euro-pean Union, you have to acknowledge that only 50% of the citizens regard the mem-bership of their country as a good thing. You also have to acknowledge that the support in the older member states has been declining. So I think we are at a crunch time where we have to ask ourselves ‘How to we regain the trust?’ You could argue that we are in is a crisis that may – for the fi rst time – not develop into an integration motor where we might see renationalisation. You could also say that the buzzword over the summer has been ‘Chinerica’, the idea of

China and America running the world. This is what we have to deal with.” Mario Monti, former EU-Commissioner and President of Bocconi University, doesn’t speak about the challenges that Eu-rope has to face. Instead, he starts out with looking back at the challenges it has already overcome:“Follow me in a mental experiment. Com-pare the USA and the EU when Austria

joined the EU in 1995. The USA had four things: a single market, a single currency, they had done enlargement driven by supply and they had a glorious constitu-

tion. We had none of these things in 1995! – Now, 15 years later we have a pretty well functioning – not perfect – market. We have a single currency that was a fantastic shield during the crisis. We have completed enlar-gement in a very remarkable way and we could discuss at length what Europe would be today with the crisis without the new member states. Finally we haven’t made it to have a proper constitution, but if our Irish friends ever give us the blessing of voting in favour of the referendum, we will have the Lisbon treaty. What worries me most, is that we are losing our base of compromise. Let’s be frank, the two countries which must be credited as the engines for European integ-ration are France and Germany. They have lost their appetite for further integration. I believe that we need to fi nd a new way to retrigger enthusiasm of governments in the member states.”Wolfgang Schuster, mayor of Stuttgart, goes one step further. He doesn’t only demand more enthusiasm, but also a new concept of multilevel governance:“It is a question of values, democracy, freedom and peace – this is Europe today

and it is not given in the future. We can write it down in a preamble or the Lisbon treaty, but if it is not in the heart and the spirit of the people, it will be very diffi cult.

We have to defi ne what should be done on the European level and what states should do in future. We have to fi nd new models of linking these different levels. We call

it multilevel governance. Behind this term, there is a new system of governance which we haven’t really developed. The old models don’t fi t in a fl exible situation and the high complexity on the European and global level. Give the people freedom. Create a new model of solidarity. This sets the future for Europe.”Concrete ideas and solutions to the mentioned problems were not presented. According to Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the people of Europe will have to wait another nine month for that: “As a group, we have decided that we won’t present any ideas until our fi nal report in June 2010. We feel that it won’t be correct as we are still in a working process.”

Ban Ki-Moon in AlpbachEin Audi der Sonderpolizeieinheit Cobra kreist durch die Straßen Alpbachs. Fotografen sitzen in der Sonne vor dem Böglerhof. Der Platz ist umstellt mit Leibwächtern in dunklen Anzügen und Stöpseln im Ohr. Alles wartet auf den UNO-Generalsekretär Ban Ki-Moon. Unterdessen geschäftiges Treiben im Kongress-zentrum. Zwei Techniker sorgen für freien Durchgang, sie verschieben die Garderobe. EFA-Geschäftsführerin Patricia Mussi geht ein letztes Mal die Sitzordnung durch. „Man kann nicht einfach sagen: Der sitzt da und dersitzt dort. Da gibt es ein UNO-Protokoll und einProtokoll vom Außenministerium, die all das regeln und manchmal widersprechen sie sich“.Ban Ki-Moon ist mit seinem Stab aus New York und UNO-Mitarbeitern aus Wien angereist.„20 oder 25 Leute, für die haben wir auch noch Zimmer fi nden müssen“, erzählt Mussi.Vor vier Tagen schon kamen Techniker, die eine Sendestation im Böglerhof aufbauten. Schließlich muss der UNO-Generalsekretär immer auf einer sicheren Leitung erreichbar sein. Und dann ist er da. Umkreist von Diplomatenund Fotografen erreicht Ban Ki-Moon denEmpfang vor dem Böglerhof. Kameras blitzen.Alle wichtigen Menschen wollen ihm die Handschütteln. Er verschwindet in der Menschen-traube. Nach zwanzig Minuten löst sie sich wieder auf. Die Diplomaten gehen zu Tisch. Lange bevor einer der Redner das Plenum betritt, ist der Schrödinger-Saal gesteckt voll.Zum ersten Mal werden die Teilnehmerk-ärtchen kontrolliert. Wer keinen Sitzplatz bekommt, lehnt sich an die Wand. Applaus, als er den Saal betritt. Viele stehen auf und schießen Fotos. Jeder will ein Andenken von diesem Tag mitnehmen.Die Eröffnung der Politischen Gespräche dauert eine Stunde, die Rede von Ban Ki-Moon zwanzig Minuten. Gelassen wandert er danach die Straße zum Böglerhof hinunter. Matthias Writze

Rainer Münz

Lykke Friis

Mario Monti

Wolfgang Schuster

Seit 17. Februar 2008 ist der Kosovo unabhängig. Wie groß ist Ihr Vertrauen in den jüngsten Staat der Welt?Groß. Im Vergleich zu der Situation, in der wir gelebt haben, sind wir auf einem sehr guten Weg, ein richtig demokratischer Staat zu werden.

Haben Sie das Gefühl, dass ein Jahr nach der Neugründung des Staates die Begeis-terung in der Bevölkerung verebbt ist?Als wir am 17. Februar 2008 unsere Unab-hängigkeit erklärt haben, war dies ein sehr emotionaler Tag, weil wir sehr lange darauf gewartet haben. Es geht jetzt aber nicht nur darum, dass man selbständig ist, sondern wie man damit umgeht. Wie man kollektive Rechte schafft, damit das Individuum sich in seinem religiösen, wirtschaftlichen und zivilen Recht verwirklichen kann. Natürlich sind die Leute nicht mehr so emotional, aber es wird viel gearbeitet.

Die Arbeitslosenquote liegt im Kosovo bei rund 50 Prozent. Wird die Wirtschaftskri-se den jungen Staat noch mehr treffen? Wir sind bisher von der Krise bisher noch nicht betroffen, weil wir ein kleines Land sind. Natürlich wird die Krise nicht nur uns, sondern auch die ganze Region beeinfl ussen.

Enver Hoxjaj ist Minister für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Technologie im Kosovo. Der ehemalige Menschenrechtsaktivist spricht über die Jugend und ihre Perspektiven in dem jungen Staat. Ein Interview von Marion Bacher

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Aber wir bauen hier einen neuen Staat auf!

Im Vergleich zu Westeuropa hat die Wirt-schaftskrise am Balkan keine neue Psycho-logie geschaffen. Dem Kosovo wurden 2008 bei der internationalen Geber-Konferenz 1.2 Milliarden Euro versprochen. Für welche Projekte wird das Geld ausgegeben? Die Geber-Konferenz war für uns ein großes Ereignis. Wir haben es von Anfang an nicht nur als fi nanzielle Unterstützung verstanden, sondern auch als eine politische Unterstüt-zung. Mit Teilen der versprochenen Summe wurden viele Kraftwerke ausgebaut; im Bildungsbereich gestalten wir Lehrpläne, Textbücher und Studienpläne, investieren in die Lehrerausbildung, statten Schulen mit Computern aus, bauen neue Schulen. Das sind Details, die im Westen selbstverständ-lich sind, aber wir bauen hier einen neuen Staat auf! Rund 60 Prozent der Kosovaren sind un-ter 25 Jahren. Ist das eine Bereicherung oder eine Belastung?Das ist vor allem eine Bereicherung. Ich gehe davon aus, dass diese junge Gesell-schaft – gerade wegen ihres Altersdurch-schnitts – mittelfristig imstande ist, sich so zu verändern, um den richtigen politischen Durchbruch zu erleben. Die Frage ist, ob wir es schaffen, diesen Leuten eine gute

Ausbildung zu geben, auch eine Mentalität zu schaffen, dass sie unternehmerischer sind, selbst die Initiative ergreifen. Und natürlich, ob wir neue Arbeitsplätze schaffen. - Dass wir bei der Visa-Liberalisierung der Balkan-Staaten nicht dabei sind, war ein großer Rückschlag. Die Mobilität ist für junge Menschen besonders wichtig.

Wie versucht man in den Schulen, die jüngste Geschichte aufzuarbeiten? Das ist eine Debatte, mit der Experten, Historiker und andere Leute sehr sorgsam umgehen müssen. Wir haben in einem Staat gelebt, wo die Textbücher von den Regierungen geschrieben wurden. Es gibt jetzt einen Ausschuss für Lehrpläne, wobei wichtig ist, dass man die Geschichte nicht aus nationaler Perspektive darstellt, sondern pluralistisch versteht. Und es soll auch wirt-schaftliche, soziale und kulturelle Geschich-te vorkommen.

Welche Möglichkeiten haben Kosovaren, die mit ihrem Studium fertig werden? Es gibt sehr viele Leute, die ein Studium ab-geschlossen haben und keine Arbeit fi nden. Es muss die Arbeitskultur geändert werden. Die Menschen müssen imstande sein, auch einen anderen Job zu machen. Im nächsten Jahr versuchen wir durch bestimmte „life and learning“-Programme, Leute mit und ohne Abschluss neu zu qualifi zieren. Zum Beispiel durch Kurse für den europäischen Computerführerschein.

Sollen solche Programme helfen, dass gut ausgebildete Leute nicht abwandern?Wir sind als kleines Land und aufgrund unserer Geographie dazu gezwungen, dass unsere Leute nicht nur im Kosovo arbeiten, sondern überall. Wir wollen, dass es hier nach dem schwedischen Modell eine inter-nationale, soziale Mobilität gibt. Natürlich kann es passieren, dass einige Leute dann nur im Ausland arbeiten.

Der Historiker Enver Hoxjaj von der Demokratischen Partei Kosova (PdK) ist Bildungsminister im jüngsten Staat der Welt Foto: Markus Prantl

derland does not exist. Nevertheless, it was very hard to stay. Why?Because we developed from a totally isolatednation to an ultra-liberal one. It was a free-dom you couldn’t name. Freedom and chaos don’t match. Freedom is somehow a strong, basic rule: You get your freedom when you respect certain values. Without knowing that, you can’t offer freedom to the society. In your life, you witnessed the communist system under Enver Hoxha, the Balkan wars in the 90es and the transition period when Albania turned into a democracy. Please tell me one positive example of eachperiod.During the communist system, reading was the best thing to do. My friends and I read a lot of classic authors like Hugo, Balzac, Boccaccio and Shakespeare. Reading and classical music were kind of obligatory in the regime. Books by Dostoyevsky, Sartre, Camus or Kafka were forbidden and you could go to prison for reading them. We still did it, since a lot of people had them in their private libraries. We were very curious and something that was banned was even more interesting.The thing which really struck me after the communist regime collapsed was chaos. People were leaving the country, people werecoming in, people were shooting with guns, and people were killing each other. Then war was on our borders, foreign armies came in. What was really interesting was seeing the dynamics of transformation. You could see that something was happening. In Austria, for example, everything seems to stand still

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A Hollywood movie from TiranaBy Marion Bacher

“Albanians are the victims of as many stereo-types as you can get, blood revenge, corruption,poverty – it’s far from reality now”, said Christian Wehrschütz, ORF-correspondent inBelgrade. Around fi fty people gathered in theseminar room at hotel “Post” to get a short overview of Albania’s movie history and to watch “Time of the Comet” by the Albanian director Fatmir Koci.In the beginning Wehrschütz showed some clips from a movie about the Albanian warrior“Skanderbeg” which was shot in 1953 inSouth Ossetia. After his introduction MiroljubVuckovic, General Manager of the “East WestCrossings Promotion Fund”, also showed some clips and introduced ambitious Albanian fi lm makers. One movie clip was a small cut-out of Fatmir Koci’s second movie: “Tirana Year Zero”. “The interesting thing about Fatmir Koci is that all of the three movies hehas shot are completely different”, said Vuckovic. He praised Koci’s new movie “Year of the Komet” with the words: “It lookslike a Hollywood movie from Tirana.”Indeed Koci’s movie has one central element which is a must in Hollywood: a love story. The movie takes place in 1914 – shortly before World War One broke out. A German King has been enthroned to govern Albania. After fi ve farmers have heard about this, theyleave their village to look for war. On their way, the head of the freedom fi ghter group, Shestan, falls in love with Agnes and at thesame time Kus Babaj, the head of a rebelliousgroup, falls in love with Shestan. At the end the fi ve farmers fi nd their war – but it turns out to be less glorious then they expected.In the movie Koci deals with an imaginedlove story embedded in a historical background.In the interview below he talks about his ownreality in the fragile state Albania.

Mr. Koci, in your movie “Tirana Year Zero”you pointed out reasons why Albanians want to leave their country. Have you ever thought about emigrating?Yes. I had the chance to legally go to France in 1991. At that time there was a huge wave of emigration. It is said at the beginning of the 90s around 800,000 people left the country.I didn’t fully understand why they did this. Possibly the reasons were uncertainty, fear, search for a better life or the search for freedom. What made you stay?I realized that I could make movies in Albania.Moreover, I always believed there are different places to stay, but not better ones. The won-

on the surface and you can’t see any energy. According to the EU and OSCE the parlia-mentary elections at June 28 2009 were executed properly. Since April 1st Albania is a member of the NATO and all parties who are in the government want to work towards European integration. Are these steps towards a more solid democracy in Albania?We have made the very fi rst step towards a free society and the start of understanding what a democracy is. For the fi rst time we have a left-wing and a right-wing party in the government. I think politically; Albania’s society has suffered from internal fi ghts and from not trying to accept each other. Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia are excluded from the Visa-free travel. There has been a lot of criticism that the EU visa proposal is anti-Muslim. What do you think about that?I don’t believe this. I think it’s corruption andthe lack of proper reforms. In Albania very few people practice their religion.Let’s switch to the movie scene: In compa-rison to other Balkan states, Albania has a relatively small movie and documentaryfi lm business. What are the biggest hurdleswhich prevent young, critical fi lm makers from producing their material and play-ing an important part in the international movie scene?The lack of funding, the lack of determination and the lack of proper education. People have to study cinema. Creating a professional core and creating a base where they can produce movies of quality. Without standards, nobody will buy the fi lms. Another big problem is the distribution. Your movie “Year of the Comet” is set in 1914, when several foreign armies were stationed in the Balkans. It seems that history is repeating itself. Yes. The message of this movie is that history is a circle. The spiral is only going down or up and you can’t control it.

Fatmir Koci Foto: Markus Prantl

Zitat des TagesQuote of the day

„Wenn der Staat das Vertrauen zerstört, mutiert er zum Versager oder Tyrannen.Eckart D. Stratenschulte, Direktor der Europäischen Akademie Berlin

Alpbach News auf YouTube

Best of Speakers’ NightYoung participants of the European Forum Alpbach demonstrated their rhetorical skills at the Speakers’ Night.

You can see two best-of Videoclips on YouTube (our account name is Alpbach-News2009) at the URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRNQ_s8kWsk

and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWHWoRGzwBgFilms by Teresa Kästenbauer

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The fear of Russia

Why do so many people mistrust the EU?Well, you have to ask the older member countries. We have been a member for fi ve years. Why is there mistrust and fear? One point for instance are myths like the polish plumber in France. I would have to do a doctoral thesis to document it all up, but theLeft in Europe still hasn’t quite given up allits old marxist dreams. It is one thing to havemarxist dreams. But what is worse is that theythink the paradise on earth was the former Soviet Union and now Russia is carrying the fl ag. People who think so are mistaken.

Latvia got 2.5 billion Euros to avoid a national bankruptcy. The government ex-pects a defi cit of 12 percent and a decline in GDP of 20 percent. Is there the risk of a collapse in society?Not in society, but certainly of trust in the European Union and what it can offer its member countries. The man on the street thinks that the EU has exploited us. People think the EU just wanted to have new mar-kets for its products and has not really been seriously engaged in ensuring the situation. It was a drastic transmission for all the communist countries, from centralised to globalized market economies. They think that we haven’t had enough support and that a lot of local capabilities in industries and agriculture have been destroyed. They feel very disappointed.

But what more could the EU do to help Latvia out of the crisis?

For instance, there could be programmes to lend money to our businesses, to help them recover and heat up the economy rather than simply asking for cuts. When you are doing cuts, you make people unemployed and then they take subsidies from the state, don’t pay taxes and you are getting into a very nasty downward spiral. In order to get EU loans, we have to make cuts everywhere. That does not recuperate the economy.

Together with Vaclav Havel, Lech Walesa and other former presidents you wrote a letter to Barack Obama. You asked him not to forget East-Europe and to run a more determined policy against Russia. What should Obama do? Steps have been taken that raise certain an-xieties in central and Eastern Europe aboutthe commitment of the US to this particular region of the world, the post communist sector, which was a concern and a priorityin US foreign policy. Now, the fear is that in its desire to improve relations with Russia the equilibrium may swing too far; it is a po-licy of appeasement. Offi cially it is not doneyet, but the decision is clearly made that theywill step back from the Bush administration’swish to put up a missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic. This is a very clear gesture. I am not sure at all if there is a crucial difference in the security and safety of Europe. Personally, I am not convinced that it would make a difference where this defence shield would be placed. But politically it does make a huge diffe-rence. It is a signal saying: “Well, you know the Russians didn’t like it”. The idea of eit-her NATO or the US founding their foreign policy on what pleases or does not please Russia seems exceedingly dangerous to me.

Is Russia really still a threat to the eastern European and Baltic region?It depends on how you defi ne threat. The biggest threat is where the lines are drawn in terms of political commitment and desire to have a certain mode of life and to follow certain principals. It is very clear when it comes to basic principles of democracy, human rights and attitudes to civilisation. I am afraid that although the iron curtain has disappeared, there is still an ideologically visible frontier that starts for instance at the eastern border of Latvia with the Russian federation. Because the positions in the Russian federation has been more and more sliding towards recycling, recuperating and rehabilitating various ideological concepts – not just those of the Chruschtschow or the Gorbatschow area. But in fact, if a new subway station in Moscow is actually able to put up a quotation saying “We are all Stalin’s children” I get a sort of cold shiver down my back.

Vaira Vike-Freiberga is the former president of the Republic of Latvia and vice Chairperson of the EU reflection group. She speaks about Latvia’s mistrust in the EU and the threat of Russia. Interview by Matthias Westhoff

Vaira Vike-Freiberga speaks about the letter written to Obama

Mario Montis Europa-Rede bei der „Speakers’ Night“ lief außer Konkurrenz – zum Sieger gekürt, vom Jurymitglied Gregor Woschnagg, wurde Miroslav Dragonov

if the Balkan countries join it right now. Maybethey forgot that Europe is not the European Union only. And risk arises – trust me – just because of ignorance. Somebody of you here don’t know that Mazedonian people are very very good. If you don’t believe me just come and visit us.Tell me people, do you really think that theBalkan region is the major problem in Euro-pe? It’s not true. In fact the major problem is that no one has, or only few have that united Europe dream. Unfortunately it’s true. In thefi rst day when I came here in Alpbach, I metsuch a beautiful girl. And I think I met her at the entrance. I asked her: “Where are youfrom?” She said: “I’m from Austria.” She didn’t say that she is from Europe. That is notthe case in the United States of America, whereeverybody feels American. I understand every one of us has emotions for his own country. But often we put our own interest before thecommon European interest, when there are respectable other priorities. We all have to fi ght against terrorism, against organised crimeand not to fi ght against each other. All neigh-bour countries have problems concerning their territory, their languages or their national identities. It’s very sad. Maybe one day everything will be changed for the better. I’m an optimist. Do you know why? Because the optimist and the pessimist may die on the same day – but believe me, they don’t live the same way. I want all of us to look towards the sun. But we have to be careful that it does not blind usI wish to live in one country with you - from Reykjavic to Istanbul and form the North Seato the Adriatic Sea. It will be the day when mybrother’s dream will become reality. We areexpecting that day. Until then we can do justone thing only. At this point, just a simple thing can make us braver and more successful. Just one thing: Let’s give each other hand and wish that we make it one Europe only.”

However, nowadays it is impossible for onesimple guy from a little country in the Balkans,well known as Mazedonia, to change somethingor infl uence the decision making for somethingso important for our common future. Maybe that’s why the main words are said by the big players. They are making the rules of the game. They play the music and the others must follow them. They try to go listening,that is not too risky for the European Union

7 ALPBACH NEWS

“One Europe only”

„Make plans for tomorrow, but live today” - these were the words of my father just a few days after the terrorists killed my brother. This happened but I can’t forget it, it was likeyesterday. My brother had the dream to travel around Europe without borders, to live in a united Europe but unfortunately his dream won’t become reality. Because of him I feel responsible to participate in creating one Europe only and make it my life mission.

ALPBACH BACKSTAGE

MONTAG, 31. AUGUST 2009 MONDAY, AUGUST 31, 20098:30–8:45 FeuerwehrhausINTERRELIGIÖSE MEDITATION INTERRELIGIOUS MEDITATION Omar AL RAWI Integrationsbeauftragter der Islamischen Glaubensgemeinschaft in Österreich; Abgeordneter zum Wiener Landtag und Gemeinderat (SPÖ), Wien

POLITISCHE GESPRÄCHE POLITICAL SYMPOSIUM9:00–10:30 Erwin-Schrödinger-SaalDIE ROLLE DER VEREINTEN NATIONEN FÜR DEN SCHUTZ VON ZIVILPERSONEN THE ROLE OF THE UNITED NATIONS IN THE PROTECTION OF CIVILIANS Martin Luther AGWAI Force Commander, United Nations-African Union Mission, Darfur Sir John Eaton HOLMES Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, United Nations, New York Ellen Margrethe LOJ Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Coordinator of the United Nations Operations in Liberia, Monrovia Augustine MAHIGA Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations, New YorkChair Thomas MAYR-HARTING Permanent Representative of Austria to the United Nations, New York

The youngest contestant was also the winner of the speakers night. Miroslav Dragonov, aged 21, is a law student at the faculty Justinianus Primus in Skopje. His speech “One Europe only” was very emotional and lived by his vivid recital. We are printing it in its original wording.

Emotional & exzellentDie allerbeste Erfi ndung der jungen Alpba-cher ist die „Speakers’ Night“, die 2009 zum dritten Mal über die Bühne ging. Zehn junge Leute aus sechs Nationen stellten sich mit 3-Minuten-Reden einer Jury, die den Mazedonier Miroslav Dragonov zum Sieger kürte. Aber gewonnen haben eigentlich alle, die ihre europäischen Ideen – zuweilen emotional, zuweilen dramaturgisch exzel-lent – vortrugen. Ein Alpbacher „Oldie“ nach der hinreißenden Veranstaltung: „Da könnten sich Politiker etwas abschauen!“

8 ALPBACH NEWS

Impressum: Europäisches Forum Alpbach, Presseabteilung. A-6236 Alpbach in Tirol, Tel. 05336/600-701, presse@alpbach.org Leitung: Erna Lackner (lac). Redaktion: Marion Bacher (bam), Philipp Freund (phf), Teresa Kästenbauer (käst), Andreas Rossmeissl (ross), Matthias Westhoff (west), Matthias Writze (wri). Fotos: Markus Prantl (mp). Layout: Nikola Otto (ni). Produktion: Christian Steinbrecher

11:00–12:30 Erwin-Schrödinger-SaalNEUES VERTRAUEN IN DER TRANSATLANTISCHEN ZUSAMMENARBEIT NEW TRUST IN TRANSATLANTIC COOPERATION Reinhard BÜTIKOFER Member of the European Parliament, European Green Party, Strasbourg; Member, Board of Trustees, The Aspen Institute, Berlin Vitaly I. CHURKIN Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, New York Ahmet EVIN Founding Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University, Istanbul; Senior Fellow, Transatlantic Academy, Washington, D.C. Michael HALTZEL Senior Fellow, Center for Transatlantic Relations, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Senior Advisor, McLarty Associates, Washington, D.C.Chair Eva NOWOTNY Ambassador ret.; President, Austrian UNESCO Commission, Vienna14:30–16:00 Erwin-Schrödinger-SaalVERTRAUEN SCHAFFEN: DIE ZUKUNFT DER EUROPÄISCHEN SICHERHEITS- UND VERTEIDIGUNGSPOLITIKBUILDING TRUST: THE FUTURE OF EUROPEAN SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY

Keynote Edmund ENTACHER Generalstabschef, Österreichisches Bundesheer, Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport, WienDiscussion Alain LE ROY Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations, New York Karl ROSE Chief Strategist, Shell International, The Hague Horst M. TELTSCHIK Former German National Security Adviser to Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Rottach-EgermChair Johann PUCHER Leiter, Direktion für Sicherheitspolitik, Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung, Wien16:30–18:30 Erwin-Schrödinger-SaalWIE VIEL EUROPA BRAUCHT DIE FINANZKRISE? HOW MUCH EUROPE IS NEEDED FOR THE FINANCIAL CRISIS? Vladimir DLOUHY International Advisor for Central and Eastern Europe, Goldman Sachs Europe Limited, Prague Federico GHIZZONI Appointed Member, Executive Management Committee, UniCredit Group; Head of CEE Banking Operations, UniCredit Bank Austria AG, Vienna Ewald NOWOTNY Gouverneur, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Wien Josef PRÖLL Vizekanzler und Bundesminister für Finanzen der Republik Österreich, Wien Simon QUIJANO-EVANS Head, CEE Economics & Strategy, Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux, Vienna Myron S. SCHOLES Nobel Laureate for Economics; Frank E. Buck Professor of Finance Emeritus, Stanford University; Chairman, Platinum Grove Asset Management, New YorkChair Erhard BUSEK President, European Forum Alpbach, Vienna NB: This panel is also part of the Banking Seminar.18:30–20:00 Erwin-Schrödinger-SaalVERTRAUEN UND MISSTRAUEN IN DER NACHBARSCHAFT TRUST AND MISTRUST IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD Paolo CALZINI Visiting Professor of European Studies, School of Advanced International Studies,

J h H ki U i i B l C B l Johns Hopkins University Bologna Center, Bologna Verena KNAUS Senior Analyst, European Stability Initiative, Istanbul/Prishtina Miroslav LAJCAK Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava Alexandr VONDRA Senator, Parliament of the Czech Republic, PragueChair Johannes KYRLE Secretary-General, Austrian Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs, Vienna20:30 Hotel AlphofEMPFANG gegeben vom Fachverband der Versicherungsmakler und Berater in Versicherungsangelegenheiten der Wirtschaftskammer ÖsterreichRECEPTION hosted by the Professional Association of Insurance Brokers and Insurance Advisors of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber

BANKENSEMINAR BANKING SEMINAR14:00–14:10 Hotel AlpbacherhofERÖFFNUNG in deutscher Sprache

Erhard BUSEK Präsident, Europäisches Forum Alpbach, Wien Otto LUCIUS Geschäftsführer, Österreichische Bankwissenschaftliche Gesellschaft, Wien14:10–15:00 Hotel AlpbacherhofVERTRAUEN IN DER WIRTSCHAFT: REGELN UND KONTROLLEN ODER VERHALTENSPRINZIPIEN UND KOOPERATION in deutscher Sprache

Erich KIRCHLER Vizedekan, Fakultät für Psychologie, Universität WienChair Michael HANKE Leiter, Institut für Banken und Finanzen, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck15:00–15:30 Hotel Alpbacherhof15:00–15:30 Hotel Alpbacherhof

KUNDENVERTRAUEN UND BANKEN - EIN EMPIRISCHER BEFUND FÜR ÖSTERREICH in deutscher Sprache

Alexander ZEH Leiter, Client Services, GfK Austria GmbH, WienChair Michael HANKE Leiter, Institut für Banken und Finanzen, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck15:30–16:00 Hotel AlpbacherhofKUNDENVERTRAUEN UND BANKEN - EIN EMPIRISCHER BEFUND FÜR DEUTSCHLAND in deutscher Sprache Stefan LAMPRECHT Geschäftsführer, Steria Mummert Consulting GmbH, WienChair Michael HANKE Leiter, Institut für Banken und Finanzen, Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck16:30–18:30 Erwin-Schrödinger-SaalWIE VIEL EUROPA BRAUCHT DIE FINANZKRISE? HOW MUCH EUROPE IS NEEDED FOR THE FINANCIAL CRISIS? Vladimir DLOUHY International Advisor for Central and Eastern Europe, Goldman Sachs Europe Limited, Prague Federico GHIZZONI Appointed Member, Executive Management Committee, UniCredit Group; Head of CEE Banking Operations, UniCredit Bank Austria AG, Vienna Ewald NOWOTNY Gouverneur, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Wien Josef PRÖLL Vizekanzler und Bundesminister für Finanzen der Republik Österreich, Wien Simon QUIJANO-EVANS Head, CEE Economics & Strategy, Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux, Vienna Myron S. SCHOLES Nobel Laureate for Economics; Frank E. Buck Professor of Finance Emeritus, Stanford University; Chairman, Platinum Grove Asset Management, New YorkChair Erhard BUSEK President, European Forum Alpbach, Vienna NB: This panel is also part of the Political Symposium.