IRAK DIE WIEGE DER ZIVILISATION

LE MONDE FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Sebastian Kurz
“Vienna is a natural venue for dialogue“
Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz about the importance of intercultural
and interreligious dialogue, development-cooperation, and the efforts his department
is making to bring Austria’s economic movers and shakers together with
international diplomats.
Interview: Petra Stix
“Promoting cohesion
is a task for the
whole of society“
Fear of terror threatens to drive a wedge between Europe
and its immigrants. How do you view the situation at present,
and what can be done to counter the trend?
The shocking propensity for violence of the terror
group calling itself ‘Islamic State’, the issue of radicalisation
associated with jihadism, and the latest attack
in Paris are anything but helpful to the climate
of integration. Simply equating Islam with terror,
however, is both wrong and dangerous. Islam has
now been recognised in Austria for over 100 years,
and we have been taking in Muslim migrant workers
for 50 years now. Muslims are an important part of
our society today, and must not be subjected to some
sort of general suspicion. At the same time, people’s
fears need to be taken seriously. The fact is that we
have succeeded in achieving a great deal in the area
of integration in recent years, and the climate of coexistence
has been continuously improving. In the
field of integration, therefore, we need to ensure that
we achieve clear goals in an effort to make sure that
there is not a wholesale loss of trust between the
Muslim and non-Muslim population. We will be
proceeding determinedly against dangerous trends
such as political Islamism on the one hand, while not
allowing a negative mood against all Muslims to take
root on the other. Promoting cohesion is a task for
the whole of society, and the responsibility of each
and every one of us. All sides and each and every one
of us can contribute to building mutual trust.
Let’s talk for a moment about “successful integration”. What
do you mean by successful integration?
Our guiding principle is “integration through
achievement”. Migrants should not be measured by
their origin, but by what they succeed in achieving in
their profession, education, family or society. Successful
integration builds upon their German language
skills, success in education, and profession.
That’s why we’re concentrating on these areas in our
work. We have vastly increased investment in helping
children master the language at an early age.
Central government will be investing an additional
EUR 60 million in our kindergartens by 2018. We are
currently working around the clock on a law recognising
qualifications gained abroad, which will be a
hugely important step for those seeking opportunities
in the job market here. And a new law on Islam
will be enacted in the next few weeks defining the
rights and obligations of Muslims in Austria.
The situation in Ukraine is still critical and there seems to be
no solution in sight. What can be done?
We are of course observing the situation in Eastern
Ukraine with great concern. A peaceful solution
can only be achieved if all participants are involved.
That means that the dialogue between all parties to
the conflict has to be kept going. It also means that
the EU will have to continue speaking with one
voice, and remain true to its principles. No solution
to the conflict will ever work without Russia on
board, but the basis for any solution has to be complete
implementation of the Minsk Agreement. Selective
implementation damages trust, and as we
have already seen, does not contribute to progress in
any way. Internal reforms will also have to be implemented
within Ukraine; without these, any international
aid will be completely ineffective.
2015 is the European Year of Development. The OECD is
demanding that Austria increases the financial resources it
contributes to development work. What do your plans look
like for fulfilling the OECD demands in the future?
The European Year of Development is a hugely
important opportunity to discuss development cooperation,
keep Austrians informed, and reach people
who have not been concerned with the issue to
date. What happens in the wider world, and in developing
countries in particular, affects every one of us:
issues such as fighting poverty, protecting the environment,
using nature and precious resources care-
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PERSONAL DETAILS
Sebastian Kurz
Born in 1986, Sebastian Kurz
became Austria’s Minister for
Europe, Integration and
Foreign Affairs in December
2013. He is the youngest
Foreign Minister in the world.
56 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2015
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2015
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