CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 01/2017

Spring 2017
Nr. 1 | März – Mai | March – May
Das führende Magazin für das Diplomatische Corps, Internationale Organisationen und Wirtschaft
The leading magazine for the diplomatic corps, international organisations and the economy
cercle-diplomatique.com
MALTA DIE SCHATZINSEL EUROPAS
MALTA THE TREASURE
ISLAND OF EUROPE

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Verbrauch: 5,3–6,9 l/100 km. CO2-Emission: 137–156 g/km.
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DER KOPF SAGT JA.
DAS HERZ SOWIESO.
AB 399 € /MONAT *
EDITORIAL
Liebe Leserinnen, liebe Leser! | Dear Readers,
MASERATI GHIBLI DIESEL. AB 399 € * MONATLICH
3 JAHRE HERSTELLERGARANTIE • ROAD ASSISTANCE • WARTUNGSPAKET PREMIUM
Es sind längst nicht mehr nur die Emotionen, die für einen Maserati sprechen, sondern auch die Vernunft.
Dank seinem sparsamen 5.9 Liter/100 km kombiniertem Verbrauch ist der Ghibli Diesel ein exzellentes
Beispiel für Effizienz, ohne dabei auf die für Maserati typische Sportlichkeit zu verzichten. Das macht den
Ghibli Diesel zum perfekten Auto für jeden Tag.
Kraftstoffverbrauch (l/100 km): innerorts 7,7 - außerorts 4,9 - kombiniert 5,9; CO 2-Emissionen: kombiniert
158 g/km; Effizienzklasse: B. Ermittelt nach EG-Richtlinie 1999/94/EG.
Abbildung enthält Sonderausstattung.
*
Freibleibendes Leasingbeispiel für den Maserati Ghibli Diesel auf Basis aktuell gültiger Konditionen: Listenpreis € 76.699,–, Barzahlungspreis
€ 71.331,–, Anzahlung € 21.400,–, Restwert € 37.080,–, Monatsrate à € 399,–, Gesamtkreditbetrag € 71.705,–, Gebühren inkl. staatl. Vertragsgebühr
€ 1.674,–, Sollzinssatz fix 0,04%, eff. Jahreszins 1,35%, FCA Ratenschutz ableben (optional) € 375,–, Gesamtbetrag € 73.432,–,
Fahrleistung 20.000 km p.a., Laufzeit 36 Monate, Voraussetzung: Bankübliche Bonitätskriterien, Wohnsitz/Beschäftigung in Österreich.
Ein Angebot der Maserati Financial Services, eine Zweigniederlassung der FCA Leasing GmbH.
Alle Angaben inkl. Ust. und NoVA. Erhältlich bei allen teilnehmenden Partnern. Für weitere Informationen und ein konkretes Leasingangebot
wenden Sie sich bitte an einen Händler Ihrer Wahl. Stand 02/2017
pappas.at
PHOTO: ROIS & STUBENRAUCH
Wussten Sie, dass die Johanniter das Malteserkreuz
im Jahr 1126 zu ihrem offiziellen
Symbol machten? Keine andere Ära
hat so deutliche Spuren auf Malta hinterlassen, dem
diesmal unsere Titel-Geschichte gewidmet ist. Und
wir dürfen uns schon jetzt auf das nächste Jahr freuen,
wenn Valletta 2018 Europäische Kulturhauptstadt
sein wird (zu lesen ab Seite 30).
Das für viele noch unbekannte Montenegro ist
die kleinste Republik des ehemaligen Jugoslawiens,
mit rund 295 km Küste. Aufsehen erregt auch das
Großprojekt „Porto Montenegro“ mit seiner Lage in
der traumhaften UNESCO-geschützten Bucht von
Kotor, die eine Top-Marina mit ebensolchem Service
verbindet (ab Seite 46).
Sehr stolz sind wir in dieser Ausgabe auch auf die
Tatsache, dass für unser bereits drittes „Botschafter-
Gipfeltreffen“ diesmal die Exzellenzen aus Kenia
und Südafrika an einem Tisch zum gemeinsamen
Gespräch Platz genommen haben. Botschafter Michael
Oyugi aus Kenia und Botschafter Tebogo Seokolo
aus Südafrika diskutierten darin u.a. die Errungenschaften
der aufstrebenden Wirtschaft des
afrikanischen Kontinents wie auch die Partnerschaften
mit Europa und China, zu lesen ab Seite 54.
Bernd Wiesberger und Matthias Schwab sind
Sportler, die beweisen, dass Österreich auch als
Land des aktiven und erfolgreichen Golfsports verstärkt
wahrgenommen wird. Die beiden sind Teilnehmer
der Lyoness Open 2017, ein Turnier, das in
bewährter Art und Weise von 8. bis 11. Juni im Diamond
Country Club in Atzenbrugg (Niederösterreich)
abgehalten wird (ab Seite 132).
Erfolge schätzen auch wir und arbeiten mit Freude
permanent am Ausbau unseres Vertriebs, um
Cercle Diplomatique einer noch größeren hochwertigen
Zielgruppe vorzustellen. Unser Partner der
ersten Stunde war und ist dabei die Wiener Privatklinik.
Mit dem Rudolfinerhaus, einer weiteren führenden
Privatklinik Wiens, haben wir einen neuen
Partner im Gesundheitsbereich gewinnen können,
wo wir ab nun nicht nur im öffentlichen Bereich,
sondern auch in den Patientenzimmern mit unserem
Magazin aufliegen.
Wir wünschen Ihnen eine angenehme Lektüre!
Did you know that the Johanniter, a voluntary
humanitarian group related to the Brandenburg
Bailiwick of the Order of St John,
made the Maltese cross their official symbol in the
year 1126? No other era has left as many traces on
Malta than the one which we have dedicated our title
story to this time. And, of course, we are already
looking forward to next year, when Valletta is set to
be the European Capital of Culture of 2018 (p. 30).
Montenegro, still unbeknownst to many, is the
smallest republic that emerged from the former Yugoslavia
and enjoys around 295 kilometres of coastline.
The project ”Porto Montenegro“ is indeed a
small sensation, with its fabulous location at the
UNESCO-protected bay of Kotor, and connecting a
world-class marina with an equally excellent service
(page 46).
We’re also particularly proud of the fact that we
have managed to bring the respective excellencies
from Kenya and South Africa around a table for our
now third ”Ambassador Summit“ Ambassador Michael
Oyugi from Kenya and Ambassador Tebogo
Seokolo from South Africa discuss, among other
matters, the achievements of the African continent’s
emerging economy as well as the partnerships with
Europe and China, start reading on page 54.
Bernd Wiesberger and Matthias Schwab are athletes
who prove that Austria is starting to be perceived
as an increasingly active and successful country
when it comes to golfing. The two are participating
at the Lyoness Open 2017, a tournament held between
8 and 11 June at the Diamond Country Club
in Atzenbrugg (Lower Austria). Find out more starting
on page 132.
We also appreciate our own successes and continue
to work diligently at expanding our distribution
in order to be able to present Cercle Diplomatique
to an even wider audience. Our partner from the
very beginning was and will always be the Wiener
Privatklinik. With the Rudolfinerhaus, an additional
leading private clinic in Vienna, we have been able
to gain a further partner from the health sector, resulting
in our magazines to be laid out in patient
rooms in addition to the public sphere.
We sincerely hope that you enjoy your read!
Herzlichst, | Yours,
Maserati Vertriebs- und Servicepartner
PAPPAS AUTO GMBH
MOMMSENGASSE 26, 1040 WIEN
Telefon: 01-505 46 11 0 / info.wien4@pappas.at
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RETTERWERK GMBH
6060 HALL IN TIROL
GEORG PAPPAS AUTOMOBIL GMBH
INNSBRUCKER BUNDESSTRAßE 111, 5020 SALZBURG
Telefon: 0662-4484-5305 / info.salzburg@pappas.at
PAPPAS AUTOMOBILVERTRIEBS GMBH
4030 LINZ
Andrea Fürnweger
Herausgeberin | Editor
Mag. Alexander Bursky
Herausgeber | Editor

CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE –
ECONOMIQUE et TOURISTIQUE
Nr. 310
Ausgabe | Issue 01/2017
März – Mai | March – May
CONTENTS
Cover story
MALTA
Seite | page 30
Mit der EU Präsidentschaft
in der ersten Hälfte des
Jahres 2017, ist Malta ins
Scheinwerferlicht
europäischer Politik gerückt.
Bereits davor zeigte die Insel
schon beeindruckende
wirtschaftliche Stärke.
With the EU Presidency in
the first half of 2017, Malta
has moved into the spotlight
of European politics. Yet
even before, the island
showed impressive
economic strength.
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14
30
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46
52
62
68
70
LE BULLETIN
First things first
Der neue Bundespräsident Van der Bellen stellt sich dem Proust-Fragebogen. The new Federal
President Van der Bellen faces the Proust Questionnaire.
Die neuen Botschafter | The new Ambassadors
Akkreditierungen durch Bundespräsident Alexander Van der Bellen. Accreditations by Federal
President Alexander Van der Bellen.
Offizielle Empfänge | Official Receptions
Die großen Empfänge der vergangenen Wochen. The great receptions of the last few weeks.
LE MONDE
Coverstory Malta | Cover story Malta
Die Schatzinsel Europas. The treasure island of Europe.
Malta
Botschafter Keith Azzopardi im Interview. Interview with Ambassador Keith Azzopardi.
Gipfeltreffen der Botschafter | The Ambassadors‘ Summit
Südafrika trifft Kenia. South Africa meets Kenya.
Montenegro
The wilde Schönheit des Adriatischen Meeres. The wild beauty of the Adriatic Sea.
Wassenaar Abkommen | The Wassenaar Agreement
Die wichtige Rolle der Kontrolle von Waffen. The crucial role for control for arms.
Essay
Europa: Die Zukunft wird ganz anders. The future will be different.
News
Neuigkeiten aus aller Welt. Latest update from around the globe.
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114
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132
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150
152
Wiener Festwochen | Vienna Festival
Neuer Intendant, neues Programm. New director, new programme.
Botschafter der Musik | Ambassador of Music
Star Geigerin Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Star violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja.
Museum Visit
Zu Besuch im Technischen Museum Wien. Visiting the Vienna Technical Museum.
Kunst | Arts
Kulturelle Highlights im Frühjahr. Cultural highlights in spring.
Immobilien | Property
Wohnkultur in jeder Hinsicht. Residential culture in all its facets.
Lifestyle
Trends für den kommenden Frühling. Trends for the spring season.
Made in Austria
Handwerk pur von Frey Wille. Pure craftsmanship made by Frey Wille.
Golf
Die Lyoness Open 2017. The Lyoness Open 2017.
Ambassador‘s Drive
Palästinas Botschafter auf CD-Testfahrt. Palestine‘s Ambassador on a test drive.
Motor
Eleganz auf und neben der Straße. Elegance on and next to the road.
Weekender
Flandern, Das Goldene Dreieck. Flanders, the golden triangle.
Upcoming
Wo es uns gefällt. Where we love to be.
Buchempfehlungen | Must read
Lesenswertes über Österreich. Book tips on Austria.
Mein Wien | My Vienna
Der Botschafter der Schweiz. The Ambassador of Switzerland.
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L‘AUTRICHE
IKT in Österreich| ICT in Austria
Österreichs digitales Rückgrat. Austria‘s digital backbone.
Zukunftslabor | Future Lab
Stefan Doboczky über den Erfolg von Lenzing. Stefan Doboczky on Lenzing‘s success.
Wirtschaftsnews | Business news
Neues aus Österreich. News from Austria.
SAVOIR VIVRE
Eventlocations in Wien | Event locations in Vienna.
Die schönsten Veranstaltungsorte. The finest locations to meet or celebrate.
Connaisseur | Connoisseur
Essen und trinken mit Stil. Wine and dine in style.
Reise | Travel
Top-Hotels und -Restaurants aus aller Welt. Top hotels and restaurants around the world.
Table Talk
GM Becker lud zum Lunch ins Meliá Vienna. GM Becker invited to lunch at the Meliá Vienna.
Check In
Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna.
Hideaways
Entspannung für Ihre kleine Frühlings-Auszeit. Relaxation for your spring timeout.
Exportschlager Musical | Musicals as export hit
Wien-Produktionen sind international gefragt. Viennese productions are sought after.
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168
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6
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LES RENDEZVOUS
Veranstaltungen | Events
Exklusive Veranstaltungen im Fokus. Exclusive events in focus.
LE GUIDE
Adressen | Addresses
Nützliche Adressen für die internationale Gesellschaft.
Useful addresses for the international community.
Titelbild | Cover
In der Hauptstadt La Valletta, Malta. | In the capital La Valletta, Malta.
Editorial
Inhalt | Contents
Impressum | Imprint
COVERPHOTO: FOTOLIA; PHOTO: MALTA TOURISM
Dieses Foto zeigt „Popeye Village“, eine Kulissenstadt auf Malta, die
der Regisseur Robert Altman 1979 für den Film „Popeye“ aufbauen ließ.
This photo features “Popeye Village“, built in 1979 as a film set for the
production of “Popeye“, directed by Robert Altman.

LE
BULLETIN
IN LE BULLETIN ERFAHREN
SIE, WER DIE NEU
AKKREDITIERTEN
BOTSCHAFTER IN
ÖSTERREICH SIND UND
WELCHE OFFIZIELLEN
EMPFÄNGE UND EVENTS
IN DEN VERGANGENEN
MONATEN STATTGEFUN-
DEN HABEN.
LE BULLETIN TELLS YOU WHO
THE NEWLY ACCREDITED
AMBASSADORS TO AUSTRIA
ARE AND WHICH OFFICIAL
RECEPTIONS AND EVENTS
TOOK PLACE IN THE PAST
FEW MONTHS.
TIMELESS QUALITY
AND STYLE.
SINCE 1836.
www.jse.wien
1010 Vienna, Austria
Weihburggasse 27
STORES AUCTIONS HUNTING MANUFACTURE

LE BULLETIN FIRST THINGS FIRST
Alexander Van der Bellen
„Mein Traum vom Glück? Mit mir im Reinen sein.“
“My idea of happiness? To be at peace with myself.“
Eingereicht von Rainer Himmelfreundpointner | Submitted by Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
AD PERSONAM
Die letzten paar Dinge, die Sie wahrscheinlich noch nicht über Österreichs neuen Bundespräsidenten
gewusst haben, beantwortet Alexander Van der Bellen hier im berühmten „Marcel Proust-Fragebogen“.
Austria‘s new Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen
answers the famous Marcel Proust
Questionnaire.
PHOTO: WOLFGANG ZAJC
Wo möchten Sie leben? Wo es nicht weit zu einer Buchhandlung
ist.
Was ist für Sie das vollkommene irdische Glück? Ich fürchte,
das gibt es nicht.
Welche Fehler entschuldigen Sie am ehesten? Beistrichfehler.
Was ist für Sie das größte Unglück? Solche Fragen zu
beantworten ;-).
Ihre liebsten Romanhelden? Ulrich aus Musils „Mann ohne
Eigenschaften“.
Ihre Lieblingsgestalt in der Geschichte? Winston Churchill.
Ihre Lieblingsheldinnen/-helden in der Wirklichkeit?
Jemand, der Menschen hilft, denen es nicht so gut geht.
Ihr Lieblingsmaler? Velazquez und Maria Lassnig.
Ihr Lieblingsautor? Dashiell Hammett.
Ihr Lieblingskomponist? Johann Sebastian Bach und Amy
Winehouse.
Welche Eigenschaften schätzen Sie bei einer Frau am
meisten? Intelligenz und Kompetenz und Humor.
Welche Eigenschaften schätzen Sie bei einem Mann am
meisten? Intelligenz und Kompetenz und Humor.
Ihre Lieblingstugend? Gelassenheit.
Ihre Lieblingsbeschäftigung? In der Freizeit: Lesen und mit
meinen Hunden spazieren gehen.
Wer oder was hätten Sie gern sein mögen? Architekt.
Ihr Hauptcharakterzug? Ausgleichend.
Was schätzen Sie bei Ihren Freunden am meisten? Ihre
Freundschaft.
Ihr größter Fehler? Ungeduld.
Ihr Traum vom Glück? Mit mir im Reinen sein.
Was wäre für Sie das größte Unglück? Politisch – das
Zerbröseln der EU.
Was möchten Sie sein? Zukunftsoffen bleiben.
Ihre Lieblingsfarbe? Die Frühlingsfarben.
Ihre Lieblingsblume? Enzian.
Ihr Lieblingsvogel? Dohlen.
Ihr Lieblingsschriftsteller/in? Patricia Highsmith.
Ihr Lieblingslyriker? Ernst Jandl.
Ihre Helden der Wirklichkeit? Menschen, die anderen
uneigennützig helfen.
Ihre Heldinnen in der Geschichte? Friedensnobelpreisträgerin
Malala Yousafzai.
Ihre Lieblingsnamen? Natascha, Irina.
Was verabscheuen Sie am meisten? Krieg.
Welche geschichtlichen Gestalten verabscheuen Sie am
meisten? Hitler und Stalin.
Welche Reform bewundern Sie am meisten? Die Einführung
der Schulpflicht unter Maria Theresia.
Welche natürliche Gabe möchten Sie besitzen? Musikalität.
Wie möchten Sie gern sterben? Vorbereitet.
Ihre gegenwärtige Geistesverfassung? Zuversichtlich.
Ihr Motto? Ubi bene, ibi patria.
Where would you like to live? Close to a bookshop.
What represents total happiness for you? I am afraid there is no
such thing.
What mistakes are you most likely to forgive? Comma mistakes.
What do you consider the greatest misfortune? Answering
questions like these ;-) .
Your favourite novel heroes? Ulrich from Musil’s “The Man
Without Qualities“.
Your favourite historical figure? Winston Churchill.
Your favourite heroes from real life? Someone who helps people
who aren’t doing so well.
Your favourite painter? Velazquez and Maria Lassnig.
Your favourite author? Dashiell Hammett.
Your favourite composer? Johann Sebastian Bach and Amy
Winehouse.
Which personality traits do you value the most in a woman?
Intelligence, competence and humour.
Which personality traits do you value the most in a man?
Intelligence, competence and humour.
Your favourite virtue? Serenity.
Your favourite activity? During leisure: reading and going on
walks with my dogs.
Who or what would you like to have been? An architect.
Your main personality trait? Balancing.
What do you value the most about your friends? Their
friendship.
Your biggest flaw? Impatience.
Your dream of happiness? Being on good terms with myself.
What would you consider the biggest tragedy? Politically, the
crumbling of the EU.
What do you want to be? Remain open to the future..
Your favourite colour? The colours of spring.
Your favourite flower? Gentian.
Your favourite bird? Jackdaws.
Your favourite fiction writer? Patricia Highsmith.
Your favourite lyricist? Ernst Jandl.
Your real life heroes? People who selflessly help others.
Your female heroes from history? Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Malala Yousafzai.
Your favourite name? Natascha, Irina.
What do you detest the most? War.
Which historical figures do you hate the most? Hitler and Stalin.
Which reform do you admire the most? The introduction of
mandatory schooling under Maria Theresa.
What natural gift would you like to possess? Musicality.
How would you prefer to die? Ready.
Your current state of mind? Confident.
Your motto? Ubi bene, ibi patria.
MARCEL PROUST FRAGEBOGEN | PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE
Alexander Van der
Bellen wurde am
18. Jänner 1944 in Wien
geboren. Seine Mutter war
eine gebürtige Estin, der
Vater gebürtiger Russe mit
niederländischen Vorfahren.
Nach mehrmaliger
Flucht vor den Sowjets
fand die Familie in
Österreich eine neue
Heimat, zunächst in Wien,
dann im Tiroler Kaunertal.
Er studierte Volkswirtschaft
in Innsbruck und wurde
1980 als Ordentlicher
Professor an die Universität
Wien berufen. Von 1994 bis
2012 war er Abgeordneter
zum Nationalrat, von 1997
bis 2008 Bundessprecher
der Grünen und von 2012
bis 2015 Mitglied des
Wiener Gemeinderates.
Seit 26. Jänner 2017 ist
Alexander van der Bellen
neunter österreichischer
Bundespräsident der
zweiten Republik.
Alexander Van der
Bellen, born 1944, grew up
in the Kaunertal in Tyrol. He
has studied economics in
Innsbruck and has lectured
as Professor for Economics
at the University of Vienna
from 1980 to 1994.
Between 1994 and 2012 he
was a Member of
Parliament and from 1997
to 2008 head of the Green
Party in Austria. Since
January 26th, 2017,
Alexander Van der Bellen is
Austria‘s 9th President of
the Second Republic.
Hintergrund. Der Fragebogen auf dieser Seite war in den Pariser Salons Ende des 19. Jahrhundert das
Gesellschaftspiel Nummer Eins und hat einen Wettstreit um die geistreichsten Antworten entfacht.
Der französische Autor Marcel Proust hat ihn zwar nicht erdacht, dafür aber gleich zweimal – 1885
und 1890 – ausgefüllt. Seither wird der Fragebogen, dessen Autor unbekannt ist, ihm zugeschrieben.
Background. The questionnaire on this page was extremely popular in the salons of Paris at the end
of the 19th century and actually has triggered an intellectual race for the most lucid answers. The
French author Marcel Proust is said have to have anwered it twice – in 1885 and 1890 – most
enthusiastically. Since then, the questionnaire is simply named after him.
10 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
11

LE BULLETIN CREDENTIALS
Neue Botschafter bei Bundespräsident Alexander Van der Bellen
Newly accredited Ambassadors met Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen
Zum ersten Mal
For the first time
Nur ein paar Tage nach seiner eigenen
Angelobung zum österreichischen
Bundespräsidenten, die im Parlament in
Wien stattfand (im Bild unten), nahm
Alexander Van der Bellen die Beglaubigungsschreiben
der neuen Botschafter in
Wien entgegen.
Only a few days after his own
inauguration as Austrian Federal
President, Alexander Van der Bellen was
handed over the credentials of the new
Ambassadors to Vienna.
Brendon Charles
Hammer
Ambassador of the Federal, Parliamentary
Monarchy Australia
H. E. H. E. H. E.
Ricardo Neiva
Tavares
Ambassador of the Federal
Republic of Brasilia
Dieudonné
Kere
Ambassador of the
Republic of Burkina Faso
Credentials: January 2017 Credentials: January 2017 Credentials: January 2017
Haytham A. H.
Shoja’aadin
Ambassador of the
Republic of Yemen
H. E. H. E. H. E. H. E.
L o t fi
Bouchaara
Ambassador of the
Kingdom of Morocco
Juan Fernando
Rojas Samanez
Ambassador of the
Republic of Peru
Hamad
Alkaabi
Ambassador of the
United Arab Emirates
Credentials: January 2017 Credentials: January 2017 Credentials: January 2017 Credentials: January 2017
Born 1958
Married, two children
Education
1987: PhD Chemistry, Australian National
University
Professional Career
2013-2016: First Assistant Secretary,
Americas Division, Department of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
2010-2013: Deputy Head of Mission,
Australian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan
2009-2010: First Assistant Secretary,
Southeast Asia Division, DFAT
2004-2009: Deputy Director-General,
Office of National Assessments
2003-2004: Assistant Secretary,
Parliamentary & Media Liaison Branch, DFAT
2003: Assistant Secretary, Iraq Taskforce,
2002-2003: Assistant Secretary, Americas
Branch, DFAT
1999-2003: Assistant Secretary, Defence,
Intelligence and Security Branch,
Department of the Prime Minister and
Cabinet
1998-1999: Director, Nuclear Trade and
Security Section, DFAT
1995-1998: First Secretary, later Counsellor
(Political) Australian Embassy, Washington
1993-1995: Deputy Director, Chemical and
Biological Weapons Arms Control Section,
DFAT
1989-1993: Analyst, Office of National
Assessments
Born on August 16, 1957
Married, 4 sons
Education
1997: Course of High Studies in Diplomacy,
Instituto Rio Branco, Brasília.
1985: Advanced Course for Diplomats,
Instituto Rio Branco, Brasília
1983-1984: École Nationale d’Administration
- ENA, Paris
1979-1980: Instituto Rio Branco (Brazilian
diplomatic Academy), Brasília
1976-1978: Faculty of Law, Universidade de
Brasília
Professional Career
2013-2016: Embassy of Brazil in Rome,
Ambassador
2008-2013: Mission to the European Union,
Ambassador
1998-2001: Embassy in Canberra, Counsellor
1995-1998: Mission of Brazil to the United
Nations in New York, Counsellor
1989-1993: Embassy in Tokyo, First Secretary
1986-1989: Embassy in Paris, Second and
First Secretary
1Born on April 8, 1960 in Tenkodogo
Education
2010: Master degree Law, Economy,
Management, International Economics and
Globalization, University of Grenoble
2004: Master degree in Political Sciences,
Master in Public Administration, European
Institute of Public Affairs and Lobbying,
Brussels.
Professional Career
2016: Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary and Permanent
Representative (UNOV, IAEA, UNIDO,
CTBTO) of Burkina Faso in Vienna.
2015-2016: Ambassador, Deputy
Permanent Representative to the European
Union, Deputy Head of Mission to the
European Atomic Energy Community,
Chargé d’Affaires a. i of Burkina Faso in
Brussels.
2014-2015: Minister Counsellor at the
Embassy of Burkina Faso in Brussels.
2006-2013 : Director of International
Cooperation at the National Assembly of
Burkina Faso.
2009-2013: Administrative Secretary for
the African region of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Francophonie (PAF)
PHOTOS: RIGEAUD, CARINA KARLOVITS & DANIEL TRIPPOLT/HBF
Born on February 10, 1975
Married, two children
Education
Master of Business Administration(MBA),
Maastricht School of Management, The
Netherlands and Sana’a university.
Postgraduate training in diplomacy and
International Relations, Corvinus University
of Budapest. Course on International
Relations and in the International Institute
of Human Rights. Bachelor degree in
Economics, Faculty of Administration and
Economy, Baghdad University.
Professional Career
2016: Designate Ambassador of the
Republic of Yemen in Vienna
Chargé d’Affaires of Embassy of the
Republic of Yemen, Deputy Ambassador at
Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
2012-2013: Political and Economic Affairs
at the Embassy of the Republic of Yemen
in Rome, permanent Representative of
Yemen to the Food and Agriculture
Organization FAO, and the other UN
agencies based in Rome (IFAD and WFP)
Head of the EU Unit at the European
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Yemen Embassy in The Hague, The
Netherlands
Minister‘s office - Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
Born on January 3, 1968 in Moscow
Education
1996: University of Rabat, Master degree in
Public Law with a Major in International
relations.
1992: National School of Administration
(Rabat) Major in Diplomacy.
Professional Career
2013: Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Cooperation since
October
2012-2013: Deputy Permanent
Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco
at the Permanent Mission to the United
Nations in NY and at the Security Council
2009-2013: Counselor at the Permanent
Mission of Morocco to the United Nations
2008-2010: Head of Unit in charge of
General Assembly and Security Council
issues
2001-2003: First secretary at the
Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of
Morocco to the United Nations in Geneva
in charge of disarmament and
humanitarian issues
1992-1994: Secretary of foreign affairs,
United Nations Directorate in charge of
disarmament and international security
(MFAC)
Born on June 24, 1948 in Arequipa
Married
Education
2013: International Relations Complementary
Academic Program, Diplomatic
Academy of Peru
1984: XXIII Advanced Professional Training,
Diplomatic Academy of Peru
1974: Diplomatic Academy of Peru
Professional Career
2017: Ambassador of Peru in Austria
2014-2106: Ambassador of Peru in Chile
2010-2011: Ambassador, Permanent
Representative of Peru to the International
Organizations United Nations
2006-2010: Ambassador of Peru in Bolivia
2000-2004: Ambassador of Peru in Costa Rica
1996-1998: Minister, Consul General of
Peru in New York
1994-1996: Minister in the Embassy of Peru
in France
1989-1992: Minister Counsellor at the
Embassy of Peru in Bolivia
1982-1985: First Secretary and Counsellor
at the Embassy of Peru in Brazil
1976-1981: Third and Second Secretary at
the Embassy of Peru in Luxembourg
1976-1981: Third and Second Secretary,
Permanent Mission of Peru to the
European Union
1976-1981: Third and Second Secretary,
Embassy of Peru in Belgium
Born 1981 in Al Ain, UAE
Education
Bachelor in Nuclear Engineering Purdue
University in Indiana (USA)
Master in Nuclear Engineering Purdue
University in Indiana (USA)
Professional Career
Since 2009: Member of the Board of
Management of the Federal Authority of
Nuclear Regulation in the UAE serving as
deputy Chairman of the Board.
Since 2008: UAE permanent representative
to the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA)
2008: Special Representative for
International Nuclear Cooperation
Since 2007: developing a peaceful nuclear
energy programme in the UAE,
represented the UAE Government in
multiple UN and Multilateral forums
Executive Affairs Authority in Abu Dhabi
with work focused on energy planning for
the Emirate
12 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
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13

LE BULLETIN REVIEW
Official receptions
Find more
photos online
cercle-diplomatique.com
December 2016
Presentation of the winter issue in celebration of the 45 year
anniversary of ”Cercle Diplomatique“ at the Park Hyatt Vienna
Many guests gave the editors, Andrea Fürnweger and Alexander Bursky, the honour of welcoming the fourth issue of 2016 and also
the 45th anniversary edition of the magazine, with the cover story on Russia, enjoying delicious food and pleasant encounters.
Top: The Russian Ambassador, H.E. Dmitry Lyubinskiy (2nd r.)
with Monique Dekker (2nd l.), GM Park Hyatt Vienna, and the
CD editors. Below: The wife of the Prime Minister of Belize,
Kim Simplis Barrow (middle), enjoyed her stay in Vienna with
H.E. Joel Nagel, Ambassador of Belize (2nd l.).
PHOTOS: DODGE & BURN
The entertainment programme included the presentation of
the Russian Costume Theatre (at the very top r. and top l.)
under the lead of Alla Denissova and a show of the Russian
sand painter Irina Titova (top, middle). Guests also enjoyed
the musical performance of the “young masters Ensemble“.
14 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
15

LE BULLETIN REVIEW
December 2016
Lebanon
On the occasion of National Day the Chargé d’Affaires a. i. Salim Baddoura invited to a reception at the residence.
December 2016
Albania
The venue was the Diplomatic Academy Vienna to celebrate
National Day.
Left: Chargé d’Affaires a. i.
Salim Baddoura.
Left: H.E. Roland Bimo and his wife
Mimoza (middle) with H.E. Ravesha Lleshi,
Permanent Representative of Albania to
the International Organisations.
INTERNATIONALE
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INTERNATIONAL
PHARMACY
December 2016
Romania
National Day was celebrated with a reception at the Vienna Stock Exchange Halls.
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We stand for commitment, service
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PHOTOS: HARALD KLEMM
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T: (+43 1) 512 28 25
F: (+43 1) 512 28 25 – 9
www.internationale-apotheke.at
Top: H.E. Bogdan Mazuru (l.) and his
wife Emilia (2nd l.) and right to them
H.E. Cristian Istrate, permanent
representative of Romania to the OSCE
and the UN and his wife Gabriela Carmen.
16 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
17

LE BULLETIN REVIEW
December 2016
Palestine
On the occasion of National Day a reception was held at the Diplomatic
Academy Vienna.
December 2016
United Arab Emirates
National Day was celebrated with a reception at the Kursalon Vienna.
Left: H.E. Salah Abdel Shafi (r.)
Left: H.E. Hamid Alkaabi (middle)
December 2016
20 year anniversary of the Wassenaar Arrangement
Federal Minister Sebastian Kurz invited on the occasion of the anniversary to his ministry.
PHOTOS: DODGE & BURN
PHOTOS: DODGE & BURN
Top: H.E. Philip Griffiths from the Wassenaar Arrangement
18 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
19

LE BULLETIN REVIEW
December 2016
Kenya
On the occasion of Independence Day a reception was held at the Austria Trend Hotel Savoyen Vienna.
December 2016
Qatar
To celebrate National Day a reception was given at Palais Coburg.
Top: H.E. Ali Al-Mansouri (r.)
Top: H.E. Michael Oyugi (l.) and his wife
Diana (2nd left)
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EXQUISIT ONLINE SHOPPING
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Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 21

LE BULLETIN REVIEW
December 2016
Japan
On the occasion of the 83rd birthday of His Majesty, the Japanese Emperor Akahito, a reception was
held at the residence.
January 2017
Austrian-Belgian Society
The traditional New Year´s Reception was held at the Bezirksmuseum Josefstadt.
Left: H.E. Kiyoshi Koinuma
(very left) and his wife Meiko
(2nd l.) with H.E. Mitsuro
Kitano (2nd r.) and his wife
Yoshie.
The French Ambassador
H.E. Pascal Teixeira da Silva
(bottom, very right) gave a
speech on the topic of current
challenges in Europe.
For refreshment, traditionally
Belgian culinary delights
were served such as snacks,
waffles, chocolate and beer.
Below: The President of the
Austrian-Belgian Society,
Stefaan Missinne.
December 2016
Bosnia
On the occasion of Armed Forces Day a reception was given at the Hotel De France.
Right: H.E. Tomislav
Leko (middle) with
Col. Slobodan
Tanasilovic (l.) and
H.E. Sanjin Halimovic.
PHOTOS:DODGE & BURN, NAPOLEON RAMOS
22 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
23

LE BULLETIN REVIEW
January 2017
Malta
On occasion of the Malta EU Presidency 2017 a piano concert and a reception were held
at the Haus der Ingenieure.
January 2017
Consular Corps
The New Year´s Reception for accredited honorary
consuls in Austria was held at Palais Pallavicini.
Top: The honorary consuls
Wolfgang Andreas Breitenthaler
(l.), Peter Freissler (middle)
and Raoul Käuffler inivited on
behalf of the U.C.C.A. (Union of
the Consular Corps in Austria).
C
The Ambassador of Malta, H.E. Keith
Azzopardi (r.) with his wife (2nd l.) and
his daughter and the Ambassador of
Kenya, H.E. Michael Oyugi (l.) and his
wife Diana.
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
June 2016
Consular Corps in Tyrol
Governor Günther Platter invited to a New Year´s
Reception at the Grand Hotel Europa in Innsbruck.
PHOTOS: OURIEL MORGENSTERN, BEIGESTELLT
Above: Honorary Consul
Ernst Wunderbaldinger.
24 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
25

LE BULLETIN REVIEW
February 2017
New Year´s Reception of the new Federal President
It was the first time for Alexander Van der Bellen to receive the international diplomatic corps.
February 2017
Iran
National Day was celebrated with a reception at the residence.
Left: The new Austrian Federal
President, Alexander Van der
Bellen (middle) and his wife,
Doris Schmidauer (left to him).
H.E. Ebadollah Molaei (left) and H.E. Reza Najafi.
February 2017
Serbia
On the occasion of National Day a reception was held at the Diplomatic Academy Vienna.
PHOTOS: DODGE & BURN, PETER LECHNER/HBF, CARINA KARLOVITS/HBF UND DANIEL TRIPPOLT/HBF
Top: H.E. Pero Jankovic (left) and H.E. Vuk Zugic (middle).
26 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
27

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LE MONDE MALTA
THE TREASURE
EUROPE
ISLAND OF
With the EU Presidency in the first half of 2017, Malta has moved into the
spotlight of European politics. Those who take a closer look are already admiring
the impressive economic strength, the tiny island country in the Mediterranean
has achieved in recent years. An exploration of the Malta miracle.
Text: Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
MALTA
PHOTO: MALTA TOURISM
The famous ”Azure Window“ in
Dwejra on the northern island of
Gozo has been washed out of the
cliff by the waves and the winds
and stands as a gateway to the
Mediterranean Sea.
30 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
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31

LE MONDE MALTA
Valletta is well-known for its
picturesque views and narrow
streets (right) as well as
its numerous shopping
possibilities (below).
A breath-taking view from the
oceanside over the hills of Valletta
with the famous St. John‘s
Cathedral guarding them.
PHOTOS: FOTOLIA (2), MALTA TOURISM
When it comes to Malta, there are those
who think of it as this small country in
the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of
three tiny islands – Malta, Gozo and ... hhhm ... Comino,
right? – south of Sicily. Poor chaps, they obviously
have never been there.
And then there are those having already been lured
by fate to Malta – like in ancient times it happened
to Odysseus who was seduced by the Goddess
Calypso to spend seven years in Gozo, they say. These
people belong to the lucky crowd. You may recognise
them by their ”did-you-know-that“-habit, they
simply can‘t keep their mouths shut talking about the
wonders and curiosities they have come across during
their visit. Just kindly ask ”How was your trip
to...“ and they will unstoppably go like did you know
that...
• the name ”Malta“ derives from the Greek word μέλι
or ”meli“ which means ”honey“;
• there are exactly 365 churches, one for each day, but
no rivers or lakes;
• Valletta is Europe‘s smallest capital, with less than a
square kilometre in size;
• the megalithic temples of Ggantija on Gozo island,
one of the country‘s three UNESCO World
Heritage Sites, are older than the Pyramids of
Egypt, dating back to between 3,600 and 2,500 BC;
• there is maybe nothing more beautiful than the
”Azure Window“ in Dwejra on Gozo – a rock
monument which has been washed out of the cliffs
by myriads of waves and the winds and stands
majestically as a gateway to the Mediterranean Sea;
• Mdina, the old capital of Malta, is called the ”City of
Silence“ because time seems to stand still there;
• all over the country you can find these cute, old
British telephone cabins, but also have to drive on
the left side, because Malta has been a colony of the
United Kingdom until its independence in 1964;
• the picturesque scenery of Malta has proved to be
the perfect playground for many blockbuster
movies like ”Gladiator“, ”Troja“, ”The Count of
Monte Christo“, „World War Z“ or the endless TVseries
„Game of Thrones“, and let‘s not forget
”Popeye the Sailor“ with Robin Williams.
True lovers of Malta could endlessly go on and on
listing such outstanding features. And they are constantly
becoming more and more. Every year, some
additional two million folks are getting addicted to
Malta. That‘s the number of visitors the country,
which only has a population of some 445,000 people,
An overview of Valletta, the
smallest capital of Europe, which
spreads out only over less than a
square kilometre.
Building complex at the National
Corporation KazMunaiGas
Round Square.
32
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
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31

LE MONDE MALTA
An evening view of Victoria, the commercial
and administrative center of Gozo, with its
majestic citadel towering over the castle.
FACTS &
FIGURES
The magnificent interior of the St. John‘s
Cathedral, built between 1572 and 1577, is
one of the finest examples of
Baroque art in Europe.
Don‘t miss out visiting one of the
traditional glass blowing shops . It is
traditional handicraft at its best.
has welcomed in 2016. Because Valletta, along with
Leeuwarden in Friesland, will be Europe‘s Capital of
Culture 2018, such record tourism figures might not
have reached the ceiling yet.
With the beginning of this year, Malta has taken
over the Presidency of the European Union for
the first half of 2017, thus moving into the focus of
European politics which has to confront severe problems
as well internally as externally. ”Malta’s EU Presidency
comes at a time when Europe is facing great
challenges“, says Keith Azzopardi, the Ambassador of
the Republic of Malta to Austria in an interview with
Cercle Diplomatique, starting at page 38. ”People are
sending clear signals to the EU, amid growing populism
in Europe and beyond. Therefore, our core mission
is to listen to what people are saying and to bring
Europe closer to the people.“
So Malta has chosen the theme „Re-Union“ as the
core of its Presidency, with issues like single market,
social inclusion, security or Europe‘s neighbourhood
on the top of the long list of priorities. Plus, to no
surprise, migration – the number one topic in Europe
for about two years. After the closing of the refugee
route from the Middle East via Turkey and
Greece, all the way through the Western Balkans into
the heartland of the continent in 2016, the dangerous
crossing of the Mediterranean sea – which actually
has turned into a graveyard for thousands of African
refugees, while another 181,000 more lucky ones
have reached Italian shores last year – is back in the
focus of European migration politics again.
Once the Mediterranen may have been regarded
as, in the lyric words of David Abulafia, a historian,
as “the most vigorous place of interaction between
different societies on the face of the planet”. But today,
for Europe it represents only danger and instability.
So, as a matter of fact, Malta’s presidency, according
to the official wording, draws attention to the
Mediterranean’s “ongoing conflict, socioeconomic
challenges, terrorism, radicalisation and humanrights
violations”.
Chief among these concerns, of course, is migration
which is nothing new for Malta. Between 2002
and 2012 thousands of refugees fleeing war-torn African
states like Somalia and Eritrea threatened to
overwhelm the tiny island. Utterly unprepared for
the arrivals, the Maltese shoved them into what critics
called grim detention centres, which remain
open today. Malta’s bid for solidarity from its EU
PHOTOS: MALTA TOURISM
partners went nowhere. And in addition its relationship
with Italy soured in rows over responsibility for
migrants picked up at sea.
Thanks to a, some say, ”mysterious deal“ between
Italy and Malta not acknowledged by either side until
today, things have changed in the meantime and
only few irregular migrants now disembark on the
islands of Malta. But the central Mediterranean route,
which now runs almost exclusively between Libya
and Italy, has Europe‘s attention again and therefore
been the primary issue at the last EU Summit held in
early February in Valletta.
In preparation for this event, Joseph Muscat, the
Prime Minister of Malta, has courted leaders of European
and African countries in a diplomatic tour de
force to promote his bigger idea for a grand solution
in the Mediterranean region. He wants the EU to
strike deals with African countries similar to that agreed
with Turkey in March 2016, which drastically
slowed the flow of migrants to Greece.
Parts of this plan had already leaked during the
week before the summit. For example, joint naval patrols
of North African waters, mainly with the marine
forces of the still highly unstable Libya or the need
for additional financial help in return to migration
control efforts. Even the old notion of offshore asylum-processing
centres in countries like Egypt and
Tunisia has been revived during discussion ahead of
the gathering.
Many of them have been agreed upon at the high
level meeting last February with the so called Malta
Declaration, which is regarded as a milestone in
addressing the migration crisis on which Europe‘s
countries are deeply divided. For instance, the importance
of having stable, secure and proper institutions
in Libya, which has become a haven for smugglers
from where they send migrants to Europe, has
officially been acknowledged. Also, EU leaders commited
themselves to increase their efforts to disrupt
the business model of this cruel and murderous human
trafficking. And they promised to come up with
the necessary resources, mainly financially, to train
and equip the Libyian national coast guards to
strengthen their boarder management capacities.
”So the EU is finally committed towards securing
its southern border through concrete actions agreed
upon in Malta“, Ambassador Azzopardi is summing
up the results of the Summit. And he is adding to
that: ”Something that Malta has for many years been
calling for.“
This positive outcome of the EU Summit in February
is not the only success story Malta has delivered
in recent years. In regard to its economy, it is one
of the best performing countries of the European Union,
due to a strictly applied national reform and stability
program imposed by the European Commission
in 2012. Malta‘s GDP, albeit nominally only 24.3 billion
dollars small, has been growing at a rate of 4.1 percent
in 2016, faster than most EU countries. Furthermore,
with a mere 5 percent, the unemplyment rate is
lower than EU average, and investment activities – in
2016 alone, Malta was able to attract some 160 billion
Euros of foreign direct investment – and domestic
consumption are amongst the strongest in Europe.
”The services sector is the stronghold of Malta’s
economy, contributing to almost 80 percent of its
GDP and employing more than 70 percent of the
country’s workforce“, Gudrun Hager, Austria‘s Commercial
Counsellor for Malta, reports (see page 43).
”Also industries such as gaming, financial services
and banking, IT and tourism are flourishing. Besides
services, manufacturing of high-tech products and
components for the automotive, electronics and medical
industries have become one of the mainstays of
the country‘s economy.“
Many experts, looking for a cure for the ailing
economy in Europe, are turning their eyes to the
Malta miracle. The country has managed to keep its
souvereign debt at a Maastricht-conform level of
around 60 percent of its GDP and is enjoying a budget
deficit of only 0.7 percent. Its tourism sector is
thriving and expected to employ some 35 percent of
the workforce in 2025. Thanks to its liberal regulations,
Malta also has become Europe‘s capital of interactive
gaming, hosting some 283 online gaming and
betting companies which also boost the IT and software
sector and already contribute nearly 10 percent
to the GDP. In part, this has been triggered by the
”Digital Malta Program“ which already has convinced
companies like HP, Cisco and Microsoft to set
up training centers on the island. Finally, the real estate
market is booming, car-sharing and E-mobility
are top government priorities, as well as the promotion
of renewable energy sources and the construction
of efficient waste diposal plants – the latter representing
quite a number of business opportunities
for Austrian green-tech-companies, according to
Commercial Counsellor Hager.
Already the dozens of Austrian companies active
in Malta have experienced an impressive increase in
MALTA
Official Name:
Republic of Malta
Capital: Valletta
Area: 316 sqkm 2 (207th largest
country in the world)
Population: 445,500
(2014 estimate)
Official languages: Maltese,
English, Maltese Sign
Language
Religion: Roman Catholic
Currency: Euro (EUR)
GDP: 10,5 billion $ (nominal,
estimate 2016)
GDP per capita: $ 24,297
million (nominal, estimate
2016)
Government: Unitary
parliamentary republic
• President:
Marie Louise Coleiro Preca
• Prime Minister:
Joseph Muscat
History:
around 5200 BC:
First settlements
around 3600 BC:
Temple period
8th century BC: Colonisation
by Phoenicians and Carthage
218 BC: Roman rule after 2nd
Punic War,
870: Arab period
1194-1530: Rule of
Kingdom of Sicily
1530-1798: Hospitaller rule
1800-1964: Rule of British
Empire
1964: Independence
since 2004: EU membership
Grand harbour of Valletta,
Europe‘s Capital of Culture
in 2018.
The delicious food, the beautiful sea and
paradise-like underwater diving attractions
as well as numerous possibilities for
relaxation have attracted a record mumber
of nearly 2 million visitors to Malta in 2016.
34
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
35

LE MONDE MALTA
WINNING
IN SHORT
TECHNOLOGY
Valletta 2018
– European
Capital of Culture
Mediterranean
dimension. Valletta,
together with the Dutch
city of Leeuwarden, the
capital of Friesland, will be
the European Capital of
Culture in 2018. Since the
capital of Malta is seeing
itself ”as a city that is a
symbol of Europe meeting
its Mediterranean
dimensions“, the
programme of events will
very much embrace this
broad approach.
Highlights. The
celebrations in 2018 will
start – no surprise – with
the ”Carnival“ which is one
of the oldest events in
Malta. February will see
the beginning of ”Modern
Music Days“ with ”Digital
Projections“ all over
Valletta‘s buildings. The
city will also host the
”Malta World Music
Festival“ and the
”Ghanafest“ and various
conferences like the one on
”Community Spaces“.
Especially interesting
might be the art project
”Presents of the Future“
which is run by Austrian
collective Time’s Up.
The logo of the Valletta
campaign for European
Capital of Culture 2018.
Top: The Rabat Catacombs, heritage of the times of megalithic
settlement between 3,600 and 2,500 BC. Below: The Malta
Aviation Museum, reflecting the importance of this industry.
Top: Cars with heavy fuel consumptions are something for hip
exhibitions, modern Malta counts on e-mobility. Below: Classic
architecture meets contemporary design in Valletta.
exports of some 10.6 percent in 2016, amounting for
some 161.6 million Euros of goods and services in
2016, a heavy surplus compared to imports of some
107 million Euros. And because the Vienna Airport
holds a share of 50 percent of the Malta International
Airport, Austria is a major investor in the country as
well. This is also due to a large investment of the Austrian
gaming giant Novomatic into the Dragonara Casino
at St. Julian‘s, one of Malta‘s touristic hotspots.
”Malta offers numerous advantages to foreign investors
which are worth to be explored“, says Azzopardi.
So what is the secret behind this Maltese success
story? ”We are saying that the market is not a bad
thing, that government should leave it to the private
sector to do what the private sector does best“, Malta‘s
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, a social democrat heading
the government after a landslide election victory
of his Labour Party in 2013, recently told the ”Economist“
prior to the EU Summit. ”It needs regulation
(and) to intervene where there are market failures and
social issues, (but) the only credible way of developing
infrastructure, of investing, is by roping in the private
sector rather than being antagonistic to it.“
Hand in hand with this economically rather liberal
course, he insists that his government is putting forward
”pure social democrat ideas“ like universal free
childcare, for instance. ”We are the first country in
Europe, perhaps in the Western world, to introduce
that“, he proudly reports. ”That has unleashed the tremendous,
previously untapped potential of the female
labour force.“ Also, the government has lowered public
energy bills by 25 percent, managed to increase
pensions for the first time in 25 years or introduced
private sector key performance indicators in the public
sector, mainly in health care where the waiting list
for hospital surgeries could be shortened decisively.
”So we have not always reinvented the wheel, only managed
to put forward a few ideas“, Muscat says. „But it
is more a matter of mentality than anything else.“
For the realistic part of the growing number of
Malta watchers, this mixture of liberal economics guided
by a social democrat political framework – Muscat
relates a lot to the politics of Bill Clinton, Tony
Blair or Gerhard Schröder – is working well as a decent
explanation of the Malta miracle.
But the more romantic fans, like some historians as
well, have a very different version of the true secret of
this unique country. Just ask them, and they ask back:
Didn‘t you know, that Malta once has been the legendary
site of Atlantis? Indeed, that old spirit of luck
seems to be still around.
PHOTOS: MALTA TOURISM
Gaming innovation starts here.
This is what our brand ambassador Niki Lauda stands for. Because
above all, we owe our success as one of the leading international
gaming technology groups to our innovative strength. It is continually
developed at our headquarters in Austria, at our 20 technology centers
and 13 production sites worldwide, as well as through our collaborations
with leading technical universities.
More information on www.novomatic.com
36
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

LE MONDE MALTA | INTERVIEW
MORE TO SEE
H.E. Keith Azzopardi
“Addressing security is not an option but rather a must.“
The Ambassador of the Republic of Malta to Austria points out the major policies of the
current Malta EU Presidency, especially its strategy on the issues of migration and security,
and tries to offer some hints to improve the sad trade figures between Malta and Austria.
Interview: Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
CD: Ambassador Azzopardi, Malta assumed the Presidency of
the European Union for the first time ever as of January 2017.
Can you share with us main issues of what your Presidency is
all about?
Keith Azzopardi: Malta’s Presidency of the Council
of the EU comes at a time when Europe is facing great
challenges. It also comes at a time when people are
sending clear signals to the EU, amid growing populism
in Europe and beyond. With this as a background,
our core mission is to listen to what the people
are saying and bring Europe closer to the people.
This is reflected in the theme chosen for Malta’s Presidency
– rEUnion and also in the priorities Malta has
set for the six-month Presidency term: migration,
Europe’s Neighbourhood, security, the single market,
social inclusion and maritime. People are demanding
answers and Europe must deliver. At the same time,
we are pragmatic and are aware that we do not have
the key to solve all Europe’s problems. Instead, the
work we have initiated during this Presidency will
continue in the months and years to come.
MORE TO DISCOVER
H.E. KEITH AZZOPARDI
PHOTO: RALPH MANFREDA
At the EU Summit last February, the first under Malta’s EU
Presidency 2017, European leaders have agreed upon a new
plan to secure the Mediterranean migration route counting
on the cooperation of Libya. Many ideas of this plan have
been proposed by Malta. Would you give us some more
background on this?
One must keep in mind that for many years, Malta
was on its own trying to overcome this crisis: the migration
crisis. We have first-hand experience and know
how pressing the need is for all Europeans to come
together in a spirit of solidarity to address this phenomenon.
The 2015 Valletta Summit was an unprecedented
event, bringing so many Head of States from
European and African countries that led to an agreement
on an action plan. Around 400 Senior Officers
from Europe and Africa also met in Malta earlier this
month to follow-up on the Valletta Summit. The Malta
Declaration, which was agreed at the informal EU
Summit in Valletta last February is another milestone.
European leaders acknowledged what Malta has been
calling for, for many years – the importance of having
stable, secure and proper institutions in Libya, which
unfortunately has become a haven for smugglers sending
migrants to Europe. There is now a clear commitment
to increase efforts in this regard as well as to
disrupt the business model of smugglers. The necessary
resources, including financial resoures, will be
available to train and equip Libyan national coast gu-
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Since September 2013, Keith Azzopardi serves as
Ambassador of the Republic of Malta to Austria and
Permanent Representative of Malta to the OSCE and
international organisations in Vienna. Prior to that, he
acted as a political adviser at the European
Parliament including issues of security and defense.
38 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

LE MONDE MALTA | INTERVIEW
PROMOTION
“Instability beyond Europe‘s borders
could have ripple effects on the
stability of the European Union.
Our security is also interlinked with
that of our neighbours.“
Our aim is to conclude legislation that was already
being negotiated, in a collective effort, while also remaining
committed towards the completion of the
Internal Energy Market. As I said, the challenges Europe
is facing are complex. We do not intend to be
revolutionary but we are rather aiming at proposing
minor solutions to these big challenges.
Malta: 50 years of economic development
Industry is not the first thing which comes to mind when
Malta is mentioned. Better known for a vibrant history and as
a holiday destination, the small island nation also has a strong
manufacturing base and associated support services which
contribute over 30% to the country’s GDP.
Ambassador Keith Azzopardi
with CD-author Rainer
Himmelfreundpointner.
ards to enhance their border management capacity. In
short, the EU is finally committing towards securing
its southern border through concrete actions agreed
upon in Malta.
Malta itself is considered as a safe and secure country.
Nevertheless you still chose security as one of the
presidency’s priorities. Why so?
Addressing security is not an option but a must. Following
what has happened in Brussels, Paris, Istanbul
and in other parts of the world, adds to the pressure of
ensuring the security of European citizens. We must
remain vigilant. Malta will seek to achieve progress on
current initiatives aimed at combating terrorism and
in better managing the Union’s external borders. Security
is also interlinked to that of our neighbours. As
an overarching priority of Malta’s Presidency, particular
attention is being given to the Mediterranean. This
includes the situation in Libya, the democratic transition
in Tunisia and the deepening of relations between
the EU and the League of Arab States. Instability beyond
Europe’s borders could have ripple effects on the
stability of the Union. Having said that, engagement
with the Eastern Neighbourhood and Russia will remain
important, as will the EU’s relations with the
Western Balkans and Turkey.
The single market also features high on Malta’s EU
Presidency agenda. What is your strategy to improve the
current situation and overcome any shortcomings?
We strongly believe that the single market is the
Union’s biggest asset. We need to exploit the single
market and develop the digital single market, which
could benefit European citizens and businesses alike.
Brexit adds to the challenges Malta has to face during its
presidency. As a member of the Commonwealth and a
country with very strong ties to United Kingdom, how will
Malta deal with this?
It is quite an irony that a country currently presiding
the Commonwealth is holding the Presidency of the
Council of the EU at a time when the UK will trigger
Article 50, the process by which it will eventually cease
to be an EU member. The UK will get the best deal
possible but, one understands, this has to be inferior
to EU membership.
Let‘s now talk about more, hopefully, light and interesting
issues. Since your accreditation as Ambassador to Austria,
which personal impressions of the country have you gathered
so far?
After more than three years living in Austria I have to
admit that I still cannot have enough of the scenic
beauty of the country’s mountains and nature, the picturesque
cities and small towns in different regions.
Vienna is a classic example. One cannot live in Vienna
and not appreciate the music it offers. I have to mention
the beauty of Graz – a city with such a Mediterranean
flair and rich culture, or the crystal-clear lakes in
Carinthia. I can go on and on. I have visited the country
before, but living in a country for a longer period,
gives you another perspective of the country and the
opportunity to appreciate what one cannot fulfil during
a short trip. I will definitely carry with me this
positive image of Austria no matter where my destiny
will take me next.
How is the current relationship between Malta and Austria?
Can you also provide us with a glance at the historic
development of relations between Malta and Austria?
Very good indeed! Actually, our relationship with
what we know today as Austria dates back to the 16th
century. Between 1530 and 1798, there were among
the Knights of Malta quite a number from the Austrian
territories. They held important posts in the
Government of Malta, in diplomacy, navy and military.
Since the relations between the two countries were
Story continues on p. 42 ➝
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
PHOTOS: MALTA ENTERPRISE • ENTGELTLICHE EINSCHALTUNG
A
sector which in its early days in the 50s and 60s made use of Malta’s low
cost base, industry in Malta has thrived in spite of challenging global circumstances.
Changing cost structures, while still very competitive when
compared to the Western European nations, led operators to switch to products
with a high added value which necessitated the input of a well-trained workforce.
Indeed, this workforce is the main resource which Malta has and, in view of this,
successive administrations have invested heavily in the educational sector to ensure
a steady supply of trained employees.
This ability to adapt to a changing world has resulted in an advanced manufacturing
sector which covers a remarkably wide range of areas including automotive
components, plastics, precision engineering, pharmaceuticals and medical devices.
This deliberate policy of spreading of risk has meant that Malta has been
able to consistently weather international economic upheaval as downturns in
specific sectors are more than compensated for by the continued strong performance
of other areas of the economy. The past year saw the country deliver the
highest growth rates in the EU, with an increase of over 6% in GDP and with
predictions for this year looking equally positive.
All this provides that essential factor so important to any investor: stability. It
is this economic, political and social stability which has provided a bedrock for
existing operations and serves as an attraction to a steady stream of new investors.
It is no fluke that in 2017 the country will be marking 50 years of operations of a
number of important investors who have developed, adapted and thrived in Malta.
In addition to this stability, there are a multitude of other factors which collectively
make Malta an ideal base for business. Chief amongst these is the abovementioned
quality of the human resources, who are invariably described by
investors as productive, flexible, easily trained and loyal. The fact that English is
an official language simplifies not only the provision of training, but also interactions
with other stakeholders and suppliers as well as access to legislation.
A highly developed communications infrastructure ensures reliable interaction
with other countries, while daily flight connections to various international
hubs facilitate the appropriate levels of contact between supplier and client. The
transparent, fully onshore, yet remarkably competitive tax system is undoubtedly
another important factor in attracting investors to Malta. A system which is in full
conformity with EU legislation, is backed up by over 60 Double Taxation Agreements
and yet allows for competitive tax rates is one which adds a great deal of
value to any Malta-based operation. These benefits are further complemented by
a wide range of assistance provided by Malta Enterprise, the country‘s economic
development agency, which seeks to ensure that any investor will get the best possible
benefits out of a Malta operation. This comprises assistance during the initial
information-gathering phase including the organisation of fact finding visits;
investment aid and access to finance to facilitate investment; as well as the allocation
of industrial space.
All the above factors, together with the fact that Malta can offer an excellent
quality of life thereby making it an attractive base for management and their families,
make this small yet energetic island an ideal location for any investor wishing
to access various markets in the EU as well as North Africa and the Middle East
from a location which offers long term peace of mind.
Further information may be accessed on www.maltaenterprise.com.
Malta has been a home to a thriving manufacturing industry
for half a century
40 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

LE MONDE MALTA | INTERVIEW
LE MONDE EXPERT´S VIEW
“The trade volume between Malta
and Austria is not the most impressive.
Also, tourism is definitely
one of the sectors where we could
achieve more favorable figures.“
„Impressive increase“
Gudrun Hager, Head of Advantage Austria in Milan
Keith Azzopardi (left) with
Cercle Diplomatique‘s
publisher Alexander Bursky
and author Rainer
Himmelfreundpointner.
formally established in 1966, this cooperation was
best demonstrated in a number of bilateral agreements
signed over the years. One has to mention our
close collaboration in the multilateral fora, including
at the EU level. Malta and Austria also share many similarities
– both are small nations and proud EU
Member States that retain their neutrality clause in
their respective Constitutions. Besides that, both
countries also share the same concerns, such as the
phenomenon of migration. As a matter of fact, maintaining
good relations is essential and in the best interest
of both countries. These good relations were reinforced
by the state visit to Malta of H.E. President
Emeritus of Austria, Dr Heinz Fischer in April 2012,
which was reciprocated by a state visit to Austria by
H.E. President Emeritus of Malta, Dr George Abela in
January 2014.
But total the trade between Malta and Austria unfortunately
is not very impressive, amounting to some 40 million Euros
of Austrian exports to Malta and some 12 million Euros of
imports from Malta. What can be done to improve our trade
relations? Where would you highlight the most promising
areas, projects or investment opportunities to improve
economic ties between Malta and Austria?
I agree that trade figures are not the most impressive.
Even if there was an increase recently, I must admit
that there is room for improvement, although we continue
to seek ways how to better these numbers. But
the picture is not so bleak. There are a large number of
local companies with Austrian shareholding, some of
which are found in the banking and investment sector,
but also in other sectors. The Vienna International
Airport is a classic example. Other companies operating
from Malta are specializing in iGaming, injection
moulding, electronics and pharmaceuticals, to name a
few. In addition, Austria also represents a very important
market segment for Malta for the teaching of
English as a foreign language. I have to say that the
tourism sector is definitely one where we could achieve
figures that are more favourable. Other sectors in
Malta, which are worth investing in are IT, financial
services, aviation, pharmaceuticals and the manufacturing
sector. Malta offers numerous advantages to
foreign investors that is worth for the Austrian businesses
to explore.
Actually, with Valletta becoming European Capital of Culture
2018 all eyes will focus on Malta and its touristic attractions.
Can we also go deeper into the many cultural and touristic
treasures of Malta as a travel destination?
The UNESCO heritage capital Valletta is a real gem.
And to be awarded the prestigious title of the European
Capital of Culture 2018 will continue to consolidate
its place among the best cultural and historical
places on the world map. Several cultural events will
be taking place both in Malta and abroad next year. In
Malta, one can find more heritage sites per square kilometre
than any other county around the globe; our
country probably has the highest density of historical
places of the world. It is a living testimony to over
7,000 years of history. The co-Cathedral of St John in
Valletta is a true gem of Baroque art and architecture,
not to mention the stunning view of the grand harbour
from the Upper Barrakka gardens, built by the
Knights of Malta. Malta is also home to the oldest
freestanding structures in the world – the Megalithic
Temples which are even older than the pyramids of
Egypt. Visitors to Malta cannot afford to miss a visit to
the old capital Mdina, also known as the Silent City or
to the Cittadella castle in Gozo, Malta’s sister Island.
Malta is literally packed with attractions and places of
interest.
Finally, if you take a look into the future, what would be your
vision of Malta and its role in Europe?
Malta is not just the smallest EU Member state but
also still young as an independent nation. Despite
the challenges and limitation, which comes with size,
we have managed to turn the tides in our favour over
the years. Our thriving economy is one example. Yet
we are also strong promoters of civil rights and social
welfare. We believe in the European value of putting
people first. Europe is not only about political or economic
issues. Therefore, size should not prevent us
from continuing to lead by example in Europe in the
future.
FOTOS: PHOTOS: XYXXYXYXY
RALPH MANFREDA
PHOTO: BEIGESTELLT
Gudrun Hager
is Austria‘s Commercial
Counsellor for Italy and
Malta, located in Milan.
Prior to this, she held
similar posts in Greece,
Poland, China, USA,
and was responsible
for Switzerland and
Liechtenstein.
Why Malta‘s economy is growing faster than that of most European countries.
Malta’s economy, albeit small, has been
growing faster than most EU-countries,
backed by an increase in investment
activities and strong domestic consumption.
In 2016, GDP is expected to have grown by a
solid 4,1 percent. The unemployment rate is stable
and significantly lower than the EU-average,
amounting to a mere 5 percent in 2016. The services
sector is the stronghold of Malta’s economy, contributing to
almost 80 percent of its GDP and employing more than 70 percent
of the country’s workforce. Industries such as gaming, financial
services and banking, IT and tourism are flourishing. Besides
services, manufacturing of high-tech products and components
for the automotive, electronics and medical industries has become
one of the mainstays of Malta’s economy.
Globally, Malta is a preferred investment location in the financial
services and insurance sectors, with foreign companies
leveraging the country’s clear regulations and tax advantages. In
2016 alone, the island attracted foreign direct investments of 160
billion Euro. One of the major foreign players in Malta is Austria,
its largest investment being its stake in the island’s international
airport. Vienna International Airport is holding a majority share
in Malta International Airport, thus contributing to the thriving
Maltese tourism industry. In 2015, Austria exported goods and
services worth 161,6 million Euro to Malta and imported a total
of 107 million Euro. From January to November 2016 Austrian
exports of goods have increased by an impressive 10,6 percent.
Aviation is set to become one of Malta’s fastest growing industries.
Malta is already manufacturing components for Airbus and
Boeing. A new aviation cluster is promoting the development of
the aviation services sector while also emphasizing R&D in the
production of components and unmanned aircrafts.
Austrian companies can capitalize on their excellent reputation
and know-how in tourism and tourism infrastructure. We
also see significant market potential for suppliers of green technology.
In a European context, Malta is still lagging behind in
terms of alternative energy sources. Merely 1,1 percent of Malta’s
total energy consumption are generated by renewables. Efficient
waste disposal plants are practically missing on the island. New
projects in the logistics sector such as the construction of a large
logistics hub in Hal Far could also offer interesting business opportunities
to Austrian exporters.
42 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
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LE MONDE PROMOTION
The Cooperation Council for the
Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)
H.E. Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al- Zayani, Secretary
General of the Cooperation Council for
the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) , shed light
on the different phases of the GCC since its inception,
along with the success it achieved in various spheres.
On the driving force behind establishing the Cooperation
Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), he said,
“On 25 May 1981, Their Majesties and Highnesses,
the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Bahrain,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar
and State of Kuwait convened in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
and agreed on a practical and realistic framework of cooperation joining
the six countries, namely the Cooperation Council for the Arab
States of the Gulf (GCC) in a bid to achieve coordination, integration,
and unity among them in all relevant fields. The decision was not arbitrary
but came as a realization and translation of the long-ingrained
ties joining the six countries as they share the same religion, culture,
language, values, interests, and destiny. Since its inception, the GCC
was envisaged to safeguard the member states’ interests, ensure their
safety and security, and to attain the aspirations of their peoples. The
purpose and objectives behind forming such a solid entity are summed
up and highlighted in the introduction of its article of association,
„Member countries of the council agreed on its establishment based
on their belief that coordination, cooperation and integration among
them serves the sublime objectives of the Arab nation, and for directing
their efforts to supporting and serving Arab and Islamic issues”.
The Secretary General explained the factors which enabled the GCC to succeed in
dealing with many regional, and international political issues,
“History, geographical location, and common borders have been
instrumental in enabling GCC countries to form a fixed stance towards
many regional and international issues based on United Nations conventions
and international laws in a bid to deal with the international
community as one homogeneous group. Their principles revolve
around maintaining good relations with their neighbours, respecting
other countries‘ sovereignty, and adopting discussion and negotiation
as an effective method of settlement of dispute among nations. Moreover,
it never hesitated to support the Arab and Islamic issues as well as
promoting cooperation with foreign countries.
As a result, the GCC has become a role model to be emulated by
other regional political, economic and cultural organizations in the
world“.
As the GCC countries share the same destiny, the Secretary General pointed out
the efforts exerted and measures taken by the GCC countries to safeguard their
sovereignty and ensure their security,
“Their Majesties and their Highnesses the leaders of the GCC states
in the twenty first session of the Supreme Council meeting, which was
held in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 31/12/2000 signed a joint defense
agreement. Such military cooperation entails carrying out joint military
training, and exchanging of expertise and capabilities.
The formation of a joint force known as „ The Peninsula Shield“ in
1982 to protect the security of member states and deter any military
aggression is regarded the crowning achievement of this cooperation.
By the same token, the GCC countries agreed in 1987 upon a comprehensive
security strategy as framework of cooperation in the security
field. It includes, inter alia, traffic, rehabilitation, counter-terrorism,
crime and drug combating, immigration, passports, airport security,
border and coastal security and civil defense. To apply
this strategy on the ground, specialized committees
were formed to discuss the mechanisms of implementation.
The establishment of GCCPOL based in
Abu Dhabi has also reinforced the GCC capabilities
to combat terrorism, organized crime, and narcotic
drugs. As for the GCC Emergency Management Centre
based in Kuwait, it was established with the main
aim to detect and avert any serious risks, threats or hazards
facing any of the GCC countries. It has also played a
pivotal role in carrying out specialized training courses and
programs for experts and specialized personnel from GCC countries
in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA)“.
As far as economic integration and human development are concerned, the Secretary
General reiterated that they have always been on the list of the GCC highest
strategic priorities:
“The GCC established customs union in 2003, after which the
Common Gulf Market was established in 2007 to guarantee equal
treatment of all GCC citizens in all economic fields such as transportation,
residence, work in the public and private sectors, social insurance,
retirement, investment activities, ownership of real estates, the right to
establish companies, education, health and social services.
At the same time, the GCC has always been concerned to enhance
and strengthen its relations with its most important partners through
strategic dialogue, mutual agreements, technical cooperation, and free
trade negotiations.
Among these prominent partnerships is the strategic partnership
with the United States of America where the first joint summit was held
in Camp David in May 2015, with the second summit being held in
Riyadh in April 2016. As for the United Kingdom, the first GCC- UK
summit was held in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 6-7 December 2016
on the sidelines of the 37th GCC Annual Summit. The summit discussed
the main components of the strategic partnership between the
United Kingdom and the GCC in the political, military, security, economic,
and cultural fields, along with political issues of joint concern.
As far as the European Union is concerned, the GCC ratified a joint
cooperation agreement with the EU in 1988. As per this agreement,
yearly meetings are held at ministerial level in addition to regular meetings
of the joint cooperation and political dialogue committee and
technical committees. In addition, the GCC formed strategic partnerships
with a number of international groups and countries such as
France, Australia, Japan, Canada, Russia, China, and Turkey.
The decision of the Supreme Council in 1993 to treat GCC citizens
working in other GCC members equally with the nationals of the hosting
country during their service demonstrates the strong belief of
GCC Countries collectively that humans are the objectives of development.
This decision was reinforced by another decision in 1995 to streamline
the employment procedures of national labour in GCC countries
and facilitate their movement“.
H.E. reaffirmed the GCC willingness to continue its march of progress:
“The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)
will continue to exert its utmost efforts to fulfill its long-term objectives
and meet the expectations of its peoples, armed by the wise directives
and far-sighted vision of Their Majesties and Highnesses, the leaders of
the GCC Countries. It shall also spare no effort to enhance its presence
and stand out among organizations in the international arena“.
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA, BEIGESTELLT. ENTGELTLICHE EINSCHALTUNG
The Permanent Observer Mission of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) to the United Nations
(UN) in Vienna
Wipplingerstrasse 34/230, 1010 Wien, Austria
Tel: 004315322221
Fax: 00431532222120
e-mail: mission.vienna@gccsg.org

LE MONDE KENYA MEETS SOUTH AFRICA
The Ambassadors‘ Summit #3
“Closing the borders is no sustainable solution to the problem of migration.“
In Cercle Diplomatique‘s third Ambassadors‘ Summit, H.E. Michael A.O. Oyugi from Kenya and
H.E. Tebogo Seokolo from South Africa discuss the achievements of the rising economy of the African
continent and the role of mutual partnerships with Europe and China. And they address the migration
crisis in Europe from an African perspective – not exactly that what European politics wants to hear.
Interview: Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
H. E. MICHAEL A.O. OYUGI
As a career diplomat, Michael Adipo Okoth
Oyugi prior to his appointment as
Ambassador of Kenya to Austria in 2013, has
served at the Kenyan Embassies in
Switzerland and Paris, and as Director of the
Africa and the African Union Directorate at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kenya.
PHOTOS: XYXXYXYXY
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
CD: Ambassador Oyugi, Ambassador Seokolo,
Africa since around the mid-90s has delivered an
impressive economic performance with an
average growth rate of some 6 percent which
even after the financial crisis is expanding by
some 5 percent. On the other hand, two thirds of
the African people have to live with less than 2
dollars a day, 20 percent are not sufficiently
nourished. What has to be done for improving this
situation?
Michael A.O. Oyugi: African countries
have increasingly placed more importance
to economic issues rather than political
to address the challenges facing them,
whether man-made or resulting from natural
causes. Part of the goal is to accelerate
development by amongst other things, promoting
economic integration of the continent,
as spelled out in the policies of the
African Union. The idea is to create larger
markets, especially for intra African trade
because national markets on their own
have proved to be too small for meaningful
trade expansion. So this is the way to go:
develop our infrastructure and remove
obstacles to free trade in the continent. I
think we have the right blueprint to do so.
Tebogo Seokolo: In recent years we
have seen the African continent improving
for the better, and one of the reasons for this
was the democratisation process that gai-
H. E. TEBOGO SEOKOLO
The Ambassador of South Africa to
Austria (since 2013) has also served as
Ambassador to Turkey, Azerbaijan and
Uzbekistan (2008-2011) and has held
various high administrative and
government positions in South Africa.
46
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

LE MONDE KENYA MEETS SOUTH AFRICA
“African countries are on a
broad move to diversify their
manufacturing capacities. That
is the real story behind the
slogan of ‚Africa Rising‘.“
“I see a wave of development that is
sweeping the African continent. More
and more countries are coming up with
value added strategies instead of
simply exporting their commodities.“
ned momentum on the continent. More
and more African states are now hosting
democratic elections. It is not where we
want to be, but we are certainly on the right
track. Also a reduction of conflicts on the
continent has been experienced, as more
African governments are taking responsibility
for peace and security which goes hand
in hand with economic development. Secondly,
the African continent with a population
of some 1,1 billion people, represents
a huge market in which there is still massive
scope for development. This presents a
good opportunity for our partners in the
north to do business in and with Africa.
Which African countries in your view could serve
as a best practice example of economic and
democratic development and possibly as a role
model for others?
Oyugi: I would rather not break it down
to particular countries because what we see
is a wave of development in the desired direction
sweeping the continent. Governments
in African countries are today very
conscious that they are responsible for
their citizens and that they have got to do
what their people expect from them – for
instance creating jobs or developing human
resources or infrastructure. Some
countries may have realised these faster
than others, but increasingly such policies
are in place throughout the continent. It is
still true that many African countries are
basically more or less still producers of basic
commodities like oil, coffee or tea. But it
is also true that we are increasingly working
to come up with value addition strategies.
Thus, it is no longer only a matter of
simply exporting oil or coffee. We are now
promoting, like in Kenya, the processing of
these commodities. And it is only a matter
of time and we will see this replicated all
over the continent. So value addition is really
what we are working on and targeting.
Seokolo: The process of diversification
of our economies from commodities, on
which some countries are heavily dependent,
remains a challenge. But now there is
a broad move to diversify the productive
capacities of most African countries, and
that is the story behind the slogan of ”Africa
Rising“. In South Africa, for example, in
the mining sector, we are very strict to impose
rigorous policies and strategies to ensure
that we are not only exporters of raw
materials. In order to enhance our manufacturing
capacity, the issue of technology
transfer with our partners in the north requires
attention. As we speak now, we have
to import most of the components. But we
have to turn around Africa from being an
assembly arena into a manufacturing space.
In South Africa, already in the automotive
sector, a certain percent of components
used to be locally manufactured inside the
country. As a result of this policy, intervention
there has been a gradual increase of
local manufacturing content. The big question
is how to improve this to develop more
sustainable jobs. We are aware that we have
to develop additional local skills and we are
therefore adapting the dual educational
system in South Africa to address the skills
needs.
Is Europe still a sufficient partner in improving the
African manufacturing capacities, given the ever
larger footprint China is leaving on the continent?
Seokolo: We do not see the relations
between Africa and China and between Afri-
PHOTOS:
PHOTOS:
XYXXYXYXY
RALPH MANFREDA
ca and Europe as competitive but as complimentary.
Most African countries have a long
relationship with Europe – and I don‘t foresee
this coming to an end, in fact these relations
continue to be deepened. On the other hand,
there is a growing relationship with China
but it is certainly not going to substitute the
long-standing relations with Europe.
Oyugi: It all is a matter of building mutually
beneficial partnerships. Many African
countries need and indeed are transforming
their economies from that of raw
material and primary commodity producers
– a heritage from colonial times – to
modern manufacturers of finished goods.
And you can‘t modernise based on the old
colonial model. So in terms of such modernisation,
there is a lot of reason for a number
of African countries and China to cooperate,
especially in infrastructure. In
Kenya, for instance, China has been involved
in financing the development of roads,
railways and energy infrastructure which is
beneficial to our value-addition efforts. But
we also continue to engage in mutually beneficial
cooperation in various fields with
European countries.
What is the quality of the current relationship
between Africa and Europe? For more than 300
years, Europe has colonised most of the continent.
Then, after the wave of independence, Europe has
nearly forgotten the continent, reduced its
engagement to development aid and left a
vacuum. Has not China rapidly moved into this?
Seokolo: You are raising an important
question. The history of Africa and Europe
is certainly rooted in colonialism. Europe
should not forget that very part of its history
and its obligations to the African continent.
But we as Africans are not prisoners
of that history. We continue to play our
own part in developing our continent. And
that is why Europe and the EU should continue
to assist and commit itself to develop
Africa – with investments, with technology
transfer, with the abolishment of trade barriers,
for example in agriculture because
the playing field is not yet leveled.
Oyugi: Removal of protectionist poli-
„WIE MENSCHEN
DENKEN UND LEBEN,
SO WOHNEN SIE“
Johann Gottfried von Herder
(1744 – 1803), deutscher Philosoph
Ein Projekt der
EXCLUSIVE TOWN HOUSES &
EIGENTUMSWOHNUNGEN IN DÖBLING
The Ambassadors‘ Summit at Palais Hansen
Kempinski Vienna, at the ”Henri Lou“ venue:
Kenia‘s Ambassador H.E. Michael A.O. Oyugi,
the South African Ambassador H.E. Tabogo
Seokolo, CD publisher Andrea Fürnweger and
CD author Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
(from right to left).
Andreas Beil
+43 1 878 28-1218
andreas.beil@buwog.at
www.pfarrwiesengasse23.at
Provisionsfrei für den Käufer
Barbara Mayrhofer
+43 1 512 76 90-414
b.mayrhofer@ehl.at
48 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Unverbindliche Visualisierung. Änderungen vorbehalten.
Kein Rechtsanspruch ableitbar. – HWB: 19,53 kWh/m²a

LE MONDE KENYA MEETS SOUTH AFRICA
FACTS &
FIGURES
The Ambassadors of Kenya and
South Africa share the view that
Europe has left a gap in the
needs to invest into the
improvement of African
infrastructure. And that China
has rapidly identified this gap
and stepped into it.
The Story of
Africa Rising
During the last two
decades, the African
continent has experienced
an outstanding economic
growth rate of some 6
percent in average. The
African Union, consisting
of 53 of the 54 African
states, accounts for a GDP
of some 2 trillion dollar
and has set out ambitious
goals in its ”Agenda 2063“
– a common market with
trade barriers and the
creation of an infrastructure
all over the continent.
Migration in and
out of Africa
Apart from millions of
displaced persons inside
the African continent –
most of them in the
Democratic Republic
Congo, Sudan, Somalia or
the Central African
Republic – an increasing
number of people is fleeing
the continent to Europe. In
the so called „Khartoum
process“, started in 2014,
Europe is trying to contain
migration out of Africa via
„tailored deals“ with a
commitment of some 8
billion Euro for countries of
migrant origins.
cies on agricultural products in the European
Union is one of the most important
issues for a closer mutually beneficial partnership
between Africa and Europe. The
EU has made some concessions to Africa,
but that is not sufficient and there is still a
lot that could be done. Assistance in financing
infrastructure development in Africa
by European partners, needs to be enhanced
for instance by the simplification of the
procedures involved with focus on priorities
laid out by African countries. Infrastructure
has deteriorated. And investments
in their development have not been
forthcoming as have been expected thus
resulting in funding gaps. And these gaps
often have been filled by China. That is an
area that has not got sufficient attention of
traditional mutual partners, that is, the
countries of the EU and the West.
Seokolo: We need to remember that
there has been a huge deficit in the development
of African infrastructure. The infrastructure
of Africa was not meant to facilitate
intra African trade, instead it was
designed to transport raw materials to the
ports and meant to facilitate exporting materials
outside the African continent. As
the Ambassador of Kenya indicated, China
has taken a keen interest in financing infrastructure
projects on the continent.
Confronted with a migration crisis, many
European leaders are promoting the idea of
linking an increase of investments and development
aid not only to the fight against corruption
and implementation of the rules of law in certain
African countries, but also to stricter controls of
migration flows out of Africa. Especially
considering the growing African population,
which will be around some 2,5 billion people in
2050. What is your position on the migration
issue?
Seokolo: Closing the borders is not a
solution to the problem. The world is globalising
and you cannot stop the movement
of people. The only long term solution
is to create equal opportunities for all
and for Europe to assist in accelerating the
development of the African continent.
That‘s all we need. We need our own population
for our development. Some of those
who are fleeing are highly educated. If opportunities
are created in our own countries
that may have positive impact on the
phenomenon of immigration.
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
Oyugi: Since you can‘t stop people from
moving, it is more realistic and useful to
look at the reasons for the movement. The
approach we see now is typical of the relations
between Africa and many parts of the
developed world. It’s the kind of reaction
you could call ”First Aid“. It‘s like when
your finger is bleeding you put a plaster on
the wound, but you don‘t look at the cause
of that bleeding which could well have
deeper internal causes that go untreated. So
we have to look at what generates these movements.
That‘s why we need a partnership
that really goes to the bottom of issues.
But isn‘t the European approach to Africa right
now: First you hold the migrants back, then we
give you the money?
Oyugi: That‘s a very short-term approach
which does not provide sustainable
solutions and is in fact a manifestation of
the opposite of a genuine partnership because
it is very much one-sided. At the end
of the day, that kind of solution is an imposed
one. It is not a solution that is mutually
agreed or developed by the two sides. We
have to come back and find solutions that
address the mutual concerns of both sides,
Europe and Africa.
So in regard to so called ”hotspots“ at the borders
of the African continent to control migrants, you
are not in line with these proposals?
Seokolo: Let me put it this way: We
prefer a sustainable solution to the issue of
immigration. People leave their countries
either because there is conflict in their areas
or in pursuit of economic opportunities.
So peace and development go together.
That is why we perceive a greater role for
the United Nations in assisting to resolve
this matter. As a matter of fact, more than
70 percent of issues that are discussed by
the UN Security Council are about Africa,
yet the continent does not have a substantive
voice at it. That is why South Africa has
Experience contemporary luxury that honors the past.
argued for the reform of the Council so
that it can better respond to the issues
which affect most of its members. We are
also aware as Africans that we carry the
primary responsibility of developing our
continent. We believe that the adoption of
the development plan of the African continent
known as ”Agenda 2063“ will go a
long way towards developing Africa.
What are the goals of this Agenda, which refers to
the 100 years of the African Union in 2063?
Seokolo: An integrated, developed,
free and prosperous African common market
over the whole continent.
Oyugi: There are seven main aspirations
in the 2063 Agenda. These include building a
stable peaceful, prosperous, globally influential,
fully integrated and interconnected continent
in which for instance, it would be easy to
travel across from Cape Town in the south to
Cairo in the north, from Mombasa in the east
coast to Douala on the west coast.
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50 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
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2017 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, L.L.C.

LE MONDE MONTENEGRO
The wild beauty of the Adriatic Sea
Contrasting impressions:
While the capital Podgorica
(left) is growing into a small
metropolis, rural places like
Budva (right) capitalise on
their very special charms.
FACTS &
FIGURES
Only a one hour flight away, Montenegro presents itself as an up and coming
luxury tourism destination and one of the most developed EU membership
candidates.
Text: Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
Best of Montenegro.
Like Ulcinj City, a town on the
southern coast of Montenegro,
and the capital of Ulcinj
Municipality with a
population of some 10,000,
the coast of Montenegro
offers a lot of attractive travel
destinations.
PHOTOS: NTO, BRATISLAV TABAŠ, MARCIN KONSEK
Do you remember the late 80s and 90s in Vienna,
a period in which the city was as hot
as a vulcano, night was turned into day, and
anybody who would not want to appear as completely
nuts had to hang out in certain bars and restaurants
only. If you wanted to belong to the in-crowd,
you simply had to show up at the Alt Wien, the Neu
Wien, the Salzamt, the Salzgries or the Oswald&Kalb
– the very hotspots where media met politics, where
creative debated with finance, where ad went mad.
All these places have not been run by Austrians – no,
gastronoms from Montenegro had been throwing
the show. You would be welcomed by Ivo from Podgorica,
the capital, served by Bane from Budva, just
a 15 minutes drive away from the famous hotel island
Sveti Stefan, and sometimes you might as well
have been kicked out of the place in early morning
hours by Zladko from the beautiful Perast with
whom you better not messed up.
Those were the good old times, when Montenegro
ruled the Vienna city nights. If you want to experience
something similar today you can just book a
one hour flight by Austrian Airlines which is serving
the route Vienna—Podgorica every day. Having arrived
in Montenegro, you might just explore all the
atttractive dining and hangout opportunities the capital
has to offer – by the way: don‘t miss ”Kastan“, a
very special local dish – or set out right away to discover
a country which for good reasons is labeled
„the pearl of the Mediterranean“.
Montenegro is sort of the wild beauty south of the
Adriatic Sea and unique in many ways. Nowhere else
you can find so much natural wealth, beauty, mild
beaches, clear lakes, fast rivers, and gorgeous mountains
in such a compact area as in Montenegro. In the
morning you can wake up along the beautiful Adriatic
coast, have lunch on the banks of Skadar Lake,
and enjoy an evening walk in the Montenegrin
mountains.
So it comes at no surprise that Montenegro, which
has just about the size of the Schleswig-Holstein province
in Germany, is heavily trying to capitalise on
its natural beauties and tourism, which contributes
over 20 percent to its small GDP (see box right), is at
the core of the national development strategy of
Montenegro, that has gained independence from
Serbia in June 2006. ”It is hard to compete with the
big Mediterranean countries, since our coast has
only got 295 kilometers. So we decided for a masterplan
with a high-end infrastructure for luxury tourism“,
Ivan Milić, the Ambassador of Montenegro to
Austria, says in an interview with Cercle Diplomatique.
”In the beginning, for many people this sounded
like utopia. But in the meantime you can really
feel this luxury approach that can compete with
many resorts in the world“ (also see page 60).
Montenegro has counted some 1.8 million visitors
last year, and most of them have based their trips
in three high-end tourism development centers from
which they can take day-tours to explore other parts
of the country.
The first and foremost one certainly is Porto
Montenegro. Located in the beautiful UNESCO protected
Bay of Kotor. With the sea on the doorstep
and architecture that mirrors the nearby Venetian
towns of Kotor and Dubrovnik, it features a luxury
Regent hotel, waterfront homes, a nautical village
and a superyacht marina. And it is complemented by
signature restaurants, lively bars and a wide range of
sports, leisure and cultural activities. Milić: ”It is
maybe the most famous tourism landmark of our
country.“
Then there is a major touristic and real estate development
in Lustica Bay, also with luxury hotels,
marina and golf course and backed by the Swiss-
Egyptian Orascom Group. And finally, the finance
group Azmont Investments from Azerbaijan has
chosen Portonovi, which is near Herceg Novi, for
another huge tourism project worth some 650 million
Euro.
Many of the activities have attracted Austrian
companies as well to engage in Montenegro. With a
volume of some 370 million Euro, according to the
National Bank of Montenegro, Austria is amongst
the five biggest investors there. The Erste Bank and
the Steiermärkische Sparkasse as well as Uniqa insurance
have opened branches in Montenegro. And the
Austrian construction giant Strabag is partly involved
in the Porto Montenegro project. Additionally,
Austrian telecom companies are helping to build up
telecommunications infrastructures in the country.
And Voith, the expert in energy and power technology,
is upgrading three hydro power plants as a contribution
to Montenegro‘s plan to renew its energy infrastructure,
since the country is only using some 27
percent of its hydro potential.
Thanks to this range of development efforts, Montenegro
is expected to enjoy a GDP growth rate of
Montenegro
Official name:
Montenegro – Crna Gora
Capital and largest city:
Podgorica
Official language:
Montenegrin
Ethnic groups:
45% Montenegrins
28.7% Serbs
8.6% Bosniaks
4.9% Albanians
Religion: 59 % Christian,
23 % unaffiliated, 17 % folk
religion (e.g. santeria)
Government:
Parliamentary republic
• President: Filip
Vujanović
• Prime Minister: Duško
Marković
History:
• 625: Formation of Duklja
as a vassal of Byzantine
Empire
• 1042: Independence
gained at Battle of Bar
• 28 August 1910:
Kingdom proclaimed
• 1 December 1918:
Formation of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
• 29 November 1945:
Became a part of the SFR
Yugoslavia
• 27 April 1992: Dissolution
of SFR Yugoslavia
• 3 June 2006: Independence
regained after the
referendum
Area: 13,812 km 2
Population: 630,000
GDP: 4.25 billion $ (2016
estimate, nominal)
GDP per capita: 6,783 $
(2016 estimate, nominal)
Herceg Novi - a view of
the old castle tower with
the historic town wall
entrance.
Picturesque scenery at the
coast of Montenegro: The
bay of Boka Kotorska with
its famous tiny church island
(left) and a view on the town
of Perast from the west.
52 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

The Venetian-style rooms
of the luxury hotel Regent
Porto Montenegro boast an
awe-inspiring view of the
beautiful Boka Bay.
Don‘t miss out the Mimoze Festival which
brings together all the beauties of Montenegro
at one spot.
superyacht
Marina
Luxury
residences
Mamula Island with a diameter of
only some 200 meters is another
attraction in Montenegro.
internationaL
shopping and dining
Five-star Regent
Porto Montenegro Hotel
Yacht Club featuring a 64m pool,
sailing and sports facilities
Naval Heritage Museum
A year-round calendar
of international events
“Where the
fashion people go”
- HARPeR’s bAzAAR (uk)
Donji Stoliv – a pleasant
seaside village with a huddle
of stone houses surmounted
by a grand church is only 9.5
km away from Kotor.
+ 382 (0)32 661 059 • portoM ontenegro. c o M
Bridge on river Tara.
National cuisine: Montenegro
still offers many
places which are not yet
crowded by legions of
tourists.
some 3.4 percent in 2017, definitely above European
average. As a matter of fact, according to a recent report
from the EU Commission, Montenegro is regarded
as one of the most advanced EU membership
candidates in the Western Balkans. Since it has started
membership negotiations in 2012, 26 chapters of
negotiations have be opened and two of them already
been provisionally closed, meaning they are basically
agreed on. But the report also states that further
efforts are still required, mainly aiming at the ”depolitisation
of public services“ and to achieve
Western standards in regard to the fight against corruption,
organised crime and freedom of press, the
EU says. Also the growing rates of souvereign debt
and unemployment raises concerns in Brussels.
Both of these two issues have to been seen in connection
to one of Montenegro‘s biggest infrastructure
projects – the construction of a highway from
the Adriatic harbour of Bar to Boljare at the Serbian
border. Its route stretches over some 170 kilometers,
crossing mountainous terrain, with some 50 tunnels
and over 100 bridges. At costs of projected 800 million
Euro it amounts for roughly a fifth of national
GDP and is boosting the debt level which already
resulted into a downgrading by the rating agency
Standard & Poors. On the other hand, a big project
like this should have extremely positive employment
effects and attract additional investments like from
the Chinese Exim Bank which is supposed to credit a
huge part of the highway construction costs.
In the meanwhile, Montenegro is trying not to get
involved into the many unsolved problems obstacling
the development in the Western Balkans. At
least three of its four neighbouring countries – Bosnia
and Herzegowina and Serbia and Kosovo – are
still burdened by internal instability or boiling conflicts
with each other. That is part of the reason,
Montenegro also is seeking Nato membership which
actually has already been granted but not yet ratified.
Says Ambassador Milić: ”For us the Nato membership
is the guarantee for peace and security in the region,
since its umbrella is going from Portugal to Cyprus,
and the only part of the Mediterranean coast
not under it is Montenegro.“
A look at the famous Sveti Stefan island
near Budva in Montenegro – well known
because of its concentration of hotels on
an area of only 1.46 hectars.
PHOTOS: NTO, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, REGENT PORTO MONTENEGRO
“Elegant, aristocratic
and refined”
- TelegRAPH (uk)
FiVe-star
hoteL
regent pooL cLuB
residences
aWard Wining
spa
Among 15 best hotel restaurants
by Conde Nast Traveler
World luxury Hotel Awards
Winner
best Resort Meeting Hotel
A Year-round calendar of
international events
54 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
+382 (0) 32 660 660 • regenthoteLs.coM/regent-portoMontenegro

LE MONDE INTERVIEW
H.E. Ivan MiliĆ
“Montenegro is in the middle of geo-strategic battle again.“
The Ambassador of Montenegro about his country‘s road to
EU and Nato membership, its strategy as a luxury tourism
location and new dangers in the Western Balkan region.
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H.E. IVAN MILIĆ
H.E. Ivan Milić is serving as
Ambassador of Montenegro
to Austria since June 2015.
Prior to that, he held the
Ambassadorship to Slovenia
and various high positions in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and European Integration of
Montenegro. He holds a
degree of the Faculty of Law
in Podgorica.
CD: Ambassador Milić, although the trade volume between
Montenegro and Austria has increased 2016, it still amounts
only for some 45 million Euro, with Austrian exports of some
38 million Euro. What can be done to improve this?
Ivan MiliĆ: Let me answer this in a provocative way:
Does Austria need Montenegro to boost the trade volume?
No. Do we need Austria? Yes, of course. So the
ball is in our yard. But it’s not so easy. There are not so
many products from Montenegro you can buy here in
Vienna or Austria, sometimes wine, grappa, beer and
some aluminum. Our economy is very small, mainly
oriented to services, and the number of our products
is not very big. So we certainly have to do more.
What are the biggest current projects for the development of
Montenegro?
We are mainly building up our infrastructure
with a focus on energy and tourism. Montenegro is
using currently only 27 percent of its hydro potential,
so there is much room for development. The most
important project, with a volume of more than 1.3
billion Euro right now, is the construction of a massive
underwater cable from Italy to Montenegro by
the Italian company Terna. Once it is finished, Montenegro
will become the crossroad for energy exports
from the Western Balkans to the EU.
The main economic sector of Montenegro still is tourism
which contributes some 21 percent of its GDP. Which are the
most important projects in this sector?
Actually, Montenegro has welcomed some 1.8
million visitors, including some 78,000 guest from
Austria last year, which was a 6 percent increase
compared to figures of 2015. It is hard to compete
with the big Mediterranean countries, since our
coast has only got 295 kilometers. So we decided for
a masterplan with a high-end infrastructure for luxury
tourism. In the beginning, for many people this
sounded like utopia. But in the meantime you can
really feel this luxury approach that can compete
with many resorts in the world. There are several
projects in this respect. The first one is the Marina
PHOTO: RALPH MANFREDA
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60 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

LE MONDE INTERVIEW
While Montenegro is on a good track
in EU membership negotiations,
Ambassador Milić says, he sees the
attractiveness in other Western
Balkan countries going down.
primary strategy, which means membership in the
EU and the Nato. We are close to becoming the newest
and 29th member of Nato, and we hope the ratifications
process will be finished by the end of 2017,
since there are only four countries left to ratify. For
us, the Nato membership is the guarantee for peace
and security in the region, since its umbrella is going
from Portugal to Cyprus, and the only part of the Mediterranean
coast not under it is Montenegro. Concerning
EU integration, we can easily say that Montenegro
is the leading country of the Western Balkans
on this track. But we are not happy that other countries
are lacking behind, because it would be much
easier for us if they would be on a similar level of integration.
Unfortunately, the region is again very
much burdened with unresolved issues and there are
new dangers in the regions. Actually Montenegro is
unique in this sense and does not have any conflicts
with its neighbours. And we have to thank Austria as
it is one of the biggest supporters of Montenegro’s and
Western Balkans’ EU integration.
Porto Montenegro, which is the newest and maybe
most famous landmark of our country. The project is
going very well with a luxury Regent hotel recently
built. The second one is the Lustica Bay development
by the Swiss-Egyptian Orascom Group. The project
is on 6,9 milion squaremeters of land, with 7 hotels,
marina and golf course planned, and the value well
over one billion Euro. At the end of last year they already
have sold 96 apartments. And the third important
project is Portonovi in the vicinity of Herceg
Novi by Azmont Investments from Azerbaijan. It has
a net value of some 650 million Euro and we are very
proud that they have chosen Montenegro for this investment.
The first One & Only luxury resort in Europe
will be in Montenegro. And let me also mention
one of the most prestigious hotel brands of the world,
the Amman, which we have in Montenegro since years.
By the way, the tennis player Novak Đoković has
his wedding there.
Montenegro has started EU membership negotiations and
seems to be on a very good track. But there are areas like
corruption, organised crime or freedom of press on which
sufficient development has not yet been achieved, according
to the EU. How is Montenegro addressing these issues?
Montenegro has set its foreign policy goals right
after its independence in 2006 and has never changed
them. European and Atlantic integration is still our
But an enlargement of the EU seems not to be on the table.
Right. For example, the Malta Presidency doesn’t
have enlargement in its focus. Also President Jean-
Claude Juncker has indicated that there will be no
enlargement in the next five year. I fear, that the region
of the Western Balkans is out of the focus because
of the many problems Europe is facing. But, we don’t
want to be on the crossroad of civilisation again. If
you leave the region aside or not integrated, then you
will have the old problems because the region is not
developed enough. Therefore we are fighting for a
European perspective. This is the very one idea that
unifies us. Unfortunately, in other countries of the
region, the attractiveness of the EU is going down
and people are thinking about alternatives.
What about Montenegro?
You probably know, that we had an attempted
coup d’etat recently. This was not alleged, this was
real and a big danger for my country because our society
is still divided in some way. We don’t have a
consensus on our Nato membership, for example. So,
like many times in the past, Montenegro is in the
middle of a geo-strategical battle again. And that is
why values of the most developed EU and Nato
countries have to be implemented into our society.
In my opinion, this will mean peace and stability for
Montenegro and the region.
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
PHOTOS: XYXXYXYXY
NEU
AB
APRIL
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58 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

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LE MONDE WASSENAAR
ARRANGEMENT
”Global risks have greatly expanded.“
Interview: Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
FACTS &
FIGURES
Widely unknown, the Wassenaar Arrangement plays a crucial role for export controls of conventional
arms and dual-use goods, preventing them falling into the wrong hands. Ambassador Jean-Louis
Falconi of France, who holds the 2017 WA Plenary Chair, and Ambassador Philip Griffiths,
the Head of the Vienna-based Secretariat, explain how it works.
H.E. JEAN-LOUIS FALCONI
Ambassador Falconi, a ”Chevalier de l‘Ordre
national du Mérite“, is the Ambassador and
Permanent Representative to the United Nations
and International Organisations of France in Vienna
since September 2016. The graduate of the Ӄcole
Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et
Commerciales“ and the ”ENA“ also served as
Director of the French General Secretariat for
Defense and National Security.
H.E. PHILIP GRIFFITHS
PHOTOS: XYXXYXYXY
PHOTO: RALPH MANFREDA (2), WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT
The WA Ambassadors Falconi (right) and Griffiths during the interview at the WA Secretariat in Vienna.
CD: Ambassador Falconi, this year France has the responsibility
of chairing the Wassenaar Arrangement Plenary, the
overall decision-making body, taking over from Finland in
2016. As the Permanent Representative of France to the
International Organisations in Vienna, can you please outline
your major focus points?
Jean-Louis Falconi: It is an honour for France
and for me personally to assume the WA Plenary
Chair in 2017. France was one of the founding members
of the WA which can be seen as the post-Cold
War successor to the Paris-based COCOM – the Coordinating
Committee for Multilateral Export Controls.
France attaches a high importance to the WA‘s
work. As is well-known, conventional arms are those
that are used with the most devastating consequences
around the world, in particular small arms and light
weapons which are also the weapons of choice of terrorists.
Export licensing is an important instrument
by which governments can help prevent such weapons
and related goods and technologies from falling into
the wrong hands.
Even if the 41 participating states stick to the Wassenaar Arrangement
recommendations, what about other exporting
countries?
Falconi: Of course, national controls are most effective
when they are applied together with efforts by
other countries sharing a similar commitment to vigilance
and restraint, in particular those that are major
producers and exporters of the relevant items. This
cooperation is an underlying rationale of the WA,
both in terms of protecting national and international
security, and in seeking to create a level playing-field
for international trade. While challenges remain, the
WA has a solid record of consensus-based work over
twenty years and has established itself as a repository
of international expertise in this area. Its control lists
and guidance documents are freely available on the
WA website. And an increasing number of non-WA
countries base their export controls on the WA‘s
work without seeking to join, while several applications
for WA membership are currently under consideration.
Ambassador Griffiths, in your responsibility as current and
third head of the WA Secretariat here in Vienna with only 13
employees, can you please go into detail of how the
Wassenaar Arrangement really works in reality?
Philip Griffiths: The WA Participating States
come together to agree on lists of items that should
require an export licence at the national level, to share
information on transfer risks in different parts of the
world, as well as details of their own transfers and licence
denials, and to develop non-binding guidelines
for effective export control procedures and practice.
On average, around 25 group meetings involving a to-
The Wassenaar
Arrangement
Basics. The WA is an
intergovernmental forum
for cooperation on export
controls for conventional
arms and dual-use goods
and technologies (e.g.
sensitive items that have
military as well as
commercial applications).
The currently 41 WA
Participating States share
information and cooperate
to address challenges to
international and regional
peace and security posed
by the destabilising
accumulation and diversion
of conventional arms, and
to prevent the acquisition of
these and related items by
terrorists.
WA Members. Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Denmark,
Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary,
Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta, Mexico, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of
Korea, Romania, Russian
Federation, Slovakia,
Slovenia, South Africa, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,
Ukraine, United Kingdom,
United States of America.
wassenaar.org
The celebration of 20 Years
Wassenaar Arrangement took
place at the Austrian Foreign
Ministry in December 2016.
62 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Ambassador Griffiths was appointed to Head of the
WA Secretariat in June 2012. Prior to that he was
New Zealand´s Ambassador and Permanent
Representative to the International Organisations in
Vienna. He has also served as Ambassador to
Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and held other
postings in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, as
well as senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade in Wellington, New Zealand.
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
63

LE MONDE WASSENAAR
ARRANGEMENT
“Rapid technological
advances, many
driven by the civilian
sector, have increased
the need to respond
in timely and
coherent way to the
evolving international
threat landscape.
At the same time,
the WA makes clear
that it does not impede
bona fide civil
transactions.“
tal of more than 1,600 officials from WA Participating
States are held each year. The objective is to achieve
common understandings and to assess the scope for
coordinating national export control policies. All WA
decisions are taken by consensus. The WA‘s work is
characterized by a balance between collective agreement
on key principles and the preservation of national
discretion in implementing them. The role of the
Secretariat is to facilitate and support interaction
among the participating states. In 2016, in addition to
celebrating its 20th anniversary, the WA conducted a
fifth self-assessment with a view to improving its overall
functioning. Some specific 2016 outcomes included
further changes to the WA lists taking into account
international security developments,
technological advances and market trends, an updating
of best practices, for example on brokering and
enforcement, and establishment of a regular review
mechanism for all such documents, as well as adoption
of new internal guidelines for outreach activities
and agreement to promote technical dialogue with
some other export control regimes.
Given the central role of the WA control lists, what drives the
changes to these lists and what are they aimed at?
Falconi: I believe that the WA can be proud that
its control lists continue to be seen as the international
standard for export controls on conventional arms
and dual-use goods and technologies. WA governments
invest considerable resources in the core technical
work of keeping the lists up-to-date. They consult
industry in this process. Of course, export controls
and the risks being addressed have expanded in the
twenty years since the WA was established. Rapid
technological advances have increased the need to respond
in a timely and coherent way to the evolving
international threat landscape. This is a priority for the
WA. At the same time, the WA makes clear that it does
not impede bona fide civil transactions and that it is
not directed against any state or group of states.
Griffiths: The WA Control Lists are more extensive
than those of other international export control
regimes concerned with weapons of mass destruction
and their means of delivery. For instance, the WA
Dual-Use List contains more than 1,000 entries, ranging
from special materials, to electronics, computers,
lasers and navigation, marine and aerospace equipment.
Drawing on the former COCOM lists, which
were used as a basis at the start, the WA has been continuously
developing and reviewing its Munitions and
Dual-Use Lists to ensure their strategic and technical
relevance. This is an iterative process, typically involving
each year some 80-90 different proposals like
new entries or modifications, relaxations or deletions
of existing entries and some thirty expert meeting
days in Vienna, as well as intensive intersessional
work. It is vital, for both national security and commercial
interests, that the WA list specifications are set
precisely to focus licensing decisions on items of concern
while allowing other items to be traded freely.
Where necessary, of course, WA members also control
non-listed dual-use items through a ”catch-all“ mechanism,
which enables account to be taken of all proliferation
risks, as well as UN Security Council mandated
sanctions and embargoes or relevant regional or
national measures.
Which are the main criteria for dual-use goods to get listed
by the Wassenaar Arrangement?
Griffiths: While the main WA selection criterion
for munitions items is whether they are a major or key
component for military capability, the criteria for dual-use
items are more complex, including foreign availability,
the ability to control an item‘s export effectively,
the ability to specify it clearly and objectively,
and non-duplication with other export control regimes.
The WA lists have continued to expand in the
dual-use area, in particular, where Participating States
PHOTOS: XYXXYXYXY
PHOTOS: XYXXYXYXY
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
see the WA as the appropriate forum in which to
address emerging technologies of concern. It is significant
that new technologies with military potential,
which were traditionally developed by defence industries,
are now increasingly being developed in the civilian
sector and then used for military applications.
This reversal complicates the challenge of seeking to
minimise the lag between rapid technological advances
and the pace with which effective export control
list changes can be agreed and implemented.
Given the rapid advance of digitalisation, what is the WA
doing about cyber security and other merging technology
challenges?
Griffiths: In 2013, the WA adopted new export
controls related to „cyber tools“ and internet surveillance
systems which, under certain conditions, may
be detrimental to national security and international
stability. A challenge has been to find the right balance
between controlling technologies for the generation of
„intrusion software“ on the one hand, and not hindering
the development of industry expertise on the
other. Work has continued in the last three years to
further refine understandings, while proposals related
to „3-D printing“ and communications interception
and monitoring equipment have also been under consideration.
These and other new technologies, e.g. related
to drones and artificial intelligence, can be expected
to remain in focus given their potentially
disruptive impacts. On the other hand, export controls
on some information security and related equipment
have been relaxed or removed taking into account
the increasing integration of such functionalities
in consumer products.
How is the WA contributing to the fight against terrorism?
Falconi: The WA‘s focus is on sharing information
to prevent the diversion of licensed exports to terrorist
purposes. In this context, a particular focus has been
on proliferation risks related to Small Arms and Light
Weapons or SALW, including Man-Portable Air Defence
Systems, socalled MANPADS. The WA lists and
regularly updated Best Practice guidelines already provide
for export controls on these arms and their ammunition.
However, in the light of recent developments,
including terrorist attacks in some WA
Participating States themselves, and given the existence
of illicit trade and secondary markets, further attention
is being given to strengthening standards in this area,
such as those for the permanent deactivation of firearms.
Sharing information obviously is one of the key elements for
making the Wassenaar Arrangement work. But how does the
WA ensure and promote its effectiveness?
Falconi: The WA represents a political rather
than treaty-based commitment by each of its Participating
States. All measures taken with respect to the
WA, including meeting the agreed reporting obligations,
reflect this voluntary undertaking to cooperate
to promote transparency and responsibility. The pooling
of information, both general and specific, and the
opportunity provided to raise any matters which Participating
States may wish to bring to the attention of
partners, helps to build confidence and is a crucial
part of the benefit derived from the WA. WA reporting
goes further, in scope and frequency, than is required
under the United Nations or the Arms Trade Treaty,
known as ATT, and includes national arms transfers,
as well as transfers and denials of certain dual-use
items, to non-WA countries on a six-monthly basis.
Denials reporting draws like-minded partners‘ attention
to acquisition activities that one Participating State
considers detrimental to the WA‘s objectives, thereby
helping others to avoid inadvertent undercuts.
Also, Participating States are to notify export approvals
of certain controlled items where export was previously
denied, although I do not recall such instances.
The reporting database is continuously available
“In 2013, WA adopted
new export
controls related
to ‚cyber tools‘. A
challenge has been
to find the right balance
between controlling
technologies
for the generation of
‚intrusion software‘
on the one hand,
and not hindering
the development of
industry expertise
on the other.“
64 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
65 63

LE MONDE WASSENAAR
ARRANGEMENT
“We are confident that, when its
Participating States are pulling together,
the Wassenaar Arrangement will continue
to further enhance its contributions
to international peace and security.“
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“Particular vigilance
will be required in
respect to the fast
evolution of communications
and
other technologies
with potential military
implications.“
to Participating States on the secure WA communications
system to support transparency and consistency.
In addition, many WA Participating States have
well established public reporting requirements and
make national export licensing decisions public.
While the WA is a voluntary undertaking, and there
are consequently no formal verification or compliance
monitoring mechanisms, all Participating States recognise
the importance of meeting their commitments.
At any time, any Participating State may seek
further information, within the WA forum or bilaterally,
as to the rationale behind another‘s national licensing
decision. In this way, and by the exchange of
national implementation experiences, the WA provides
for an element of peer learning and peer review.
What are the major current and future challenges for WA?
Falconi: Export controls and the risks being
addressed have greatly expanded in the twenty years
since the WA was established. Warfare and instability
associated with conventional military threats have not
gone away. At the same time, international developments,
including security challenges related to preventing
destabilizing accumulations of conventional arms,
regional conflicts, and the proliferation and diversion
of increasingly sophisticated dual-use goods and technologies
to non-state actors, including terrorists, reinforce
the need for effective national export controls,
both within the WA and globally.
The continued relevance of the WA is dependent on
its capacity to adapt to trends and technological developments.
In that context, particular vigilance will continue
to be required in respect of the fast evolution of
communications and other technologies with potential
military implications. Ensuring the cooperation of
industry and the research sector in addressing challenges
related to intangible transfers of technologies will
also be crucial.
Griffiths: Continuing active outreach to non-
WA members will also be important in achieving the
WA‘s goals by promoting the widest possible application
of effective export control systems. The WA held
a successful technical workshop in Vienna in June
2016 for an expanded group of outreach partners as a
focus of its 20th anniversary programme. In this regard,
the Arms Trade Treaty is a valuable complementary
development and one that WA Participating States
have welcomed.
So even given the many armed and deadly conflicts, you
remain confident in regard to the WA‘s contribution?
Falconi & Griffiths: Yes. There is no doubt that
without multilateral efforts to regulate such transfers,
the world would be confronted with many more challenges
to peace. We are confident that, when its Participating
States are pulling together with a sense of
common purpose, the WA will continue to exercise
leadership in this important area and sustain and
further enhance its contributions to international security
and stability.
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
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LE MONDE ESSAY
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European Forum Alpbach.
Philippe Narval, Managing Director of the European Forum Alpbach, shares his
thoughts on the 2017 general theme: “Conflict and Cooperation”.
We had made such a cosy home for ourselves
in the market society that promised
us, over the decades, that each generation
would be materially better off than its predecessor.
Now we’re starting to feel that this story has come to
an end, just as the Holocene era is also coming to an
end. The end of this geological epoch, which for so
long granted our planet the most stable ecological
and climatological conditions in its history, has
passed without ceremony. Scientists have decided
that there is enough evidence to proclaim a new
epoch under the name Anthropocene.
This is the timeframe during which the human
species is the defining factor in the ecosystem. All
that’s left for the scientists to decide is which markers
in the planet’s sedimentary layers best represent the
Anthropocene’s beginning. According to scientists
like Jan Zalasiewicz, there is no shortage of candidates
for the role: they range from the radioactive sediments
left by the atomic tests of the 1950s to the massive
deposits of chicken bones – the quintessential
sign of mass animal husbandry – in our planet’s waste
heaps. In any case, the date will lie somewhere in
the 1950s and 60s, the decades of the baby boomers,
the official start of our planetary omnipotence.
A Planetary Stewardship
What would a society that offers honour and dignity
to creation look like? How would it respect our
planetary limits? How can we change our culture to
one of planetary stewardship, when the conflict
against natural forces and scarcity, to which humanity
was subject for millennia, seems so deeply anchored
in our unconscious? All over Europe people, organisations
and companies have already shifted from
the single-minded quest for profit and are setting
themselves more sustainable goals. What would it
take to promote these forms without placing the values
of an open society at risk? Could Europe maintain
its place on the global stage if it decided to restructure
its economic system?
New Battle Lines
Only a few allow themselves such thoughts in
times like these, while the battle lines are being
drawn: between generations, between nation-states
The European Forum
Alpbach with the general
theme “Conflict &
Cooperation” will take place
from August 16 to
September 1, 2017
alpbach.org
and between people living in successful technology
centres and those in the periphery. In times of uncertainty,
we rely on familiar institutions and patterns of
behaviour. This puts a supranational institution like
the European Union under pressure. Yet, the EU remains
probably the most successful exemplar of cooperation,
conflict resolution and prevention. Its
great achievement is to have created institutions in
which we “act together”. The currency and fiscal union
makes an economic union urgently necessary, but
there is no consensus on this. The EU’s security strategy
is an impressively verbose document; in reality
we present no united face to the world. The expansion
strategy has been frozen, and we’ve been dithering
over terms such as “social union” or “defence
union” for years. And no-one can really imagine acting
in solidarity beyond the frontiers of their own
country.
A minority of pioneers are now calling for a European
Republic and the dissolution of nation-states.
Whether we have a republic or not, the essential demand
is, at long last, to consistently implement the
subsidiarity principle. The disillusioned, however,
seek only a reduction of the Union’s responsibility to
the Single Market and shared external border protection,
and are willing to sacrifice freedom of movement
within Europe. But who can fall in love with
Frontex or the Single Market?
The refugees in Europe have shown us with particular
clarity where the fracture lines in the EU run.
They also challenge us to ask who we are and what
values we’re supposed to be defending. What does it
mean to be a European, what do we expect from new
arrivals, what do we actually stand for? Refugees,
along with the rest of us, require answers to these
questions.
As European-minded citizens we should, however,
also ask ourselves what we’re prepared to argue
and stand up for, abilities we’ve lost. How pleasant it
is to be passively tolerant! But without conflicts and
argument held in a civilised spirit, we won’t get by.
We won’t be capable of negotiating a shared life with
our new neighbours and we won’t be able to defend
Europe against the domestic enemies in our democracy.
We know instinctively that the future will be diffe-
PHOTOS: PETER MAYR, BERNHARD AICHNER/TIROL WERBUNG
rent from anything we can imagine, but we still cannot
help wondering about it. Societies are only as strong as
their most powerful dreams. But what are Europeans
dreaming of in times like this when the fantasy of
ever-increasing prosperity has come to an end?
What have we still to offer when the apparent task
at hand is to create future visions of a “reductive modernism”?
Do digital tools enable us to design new
forms of cooperation in a decentralised, non-hierarchical
way? The central thesis of Carl Frey and Michael
Osborne is that just under 50% of occupations
will disappear when robots move off the factory
floor and into other workplaces in the form of selflearning
systems. But is there a profit to balance out
the loss? The question is whether we’ll have to completely
redefine work itself within society.
The Juxtaposition of Conflict and Cooperation
The juxtaposition of conflict and cooperation
does not infer a simple opposition – one bad, the
other good. Transnational networks such as the mafia
or cartels only function in the economy because
they’re based on successful cooperation. Elsewhere,
there’s an important strand within organisational
studies arguing we need conflicts to drive change
processes and for fertile ground for innovation. A
society no longer able to conduct arguments in a civilised
and open way atrophies and slides into totalitarianism.
The question remains, nonetheless, how
large, violent conflicts start and end. What narratives
fuel them and what instruments can we use in the
21st century to prevent them? What conflict-resolution
tools can we deploy? World peace through global
cooperation – still a noble aim? Who still speaks
of such things today? Who dares to dream so big?
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much is sure. But do we even know which structures
are suited for this; which post-nation-state models
are needed at a global level, which at a local level?
How and where can we learn to cooperate in a complex
environment? The idea of democracy as the
highest school of cooperation is worn-out, but what
would happen if we rediscovered it? We convinced
democrats must be ready to argue for democracy. If
we don’t, who will?
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68 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

LE MONDE NEWS
Latest update from around the globe
Text: Daniela Pötzl
MEDICAL INNOVATION
Against preterm
birth
TOURISM
New Lisbon Airport
The Portuguese government stated
recently that Lisbon could be welcoming
its second airport in 2019. Minister of
Planning and Infrastructure Pedro Marques
explained that environmental impact
studies at the planned area, now the
Montijo Air Force base, will be conducted
this year to ascertain the viability of the
location to welcome commercial
passenger flights. The New Lisbon Airport
(Portuguese: Novo Aeroporto de Lisboa,
NAL) is the currently planned site for new
construction, originally scheduled to
replace or complement the current Portela
Airport. The global design firm HOK won
the competition to create the airport with
four proposed runways. hok.com
NEW BUSINESS
Start me up!
The Hong Kong start-up
scene has made strong
advances in the last few
years, especially due to
initiatives such as “StartmeupHK“.
As per the Global
Start-up Ecosystem Ranking,
Hong Kong today ranks 25th,
but is by far the fastest
growing one at the same
time. In 2016, the number of
new enterprises increased by
24 per cent. Many
entrepreneurs consider Hong
Kong their gate to Asia and
especially to China. Joint
projects between Austria and
Hong Kong are already being
planned.
wko.at
startmeup.hk
OFID
Maldivian cooperation
The Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development
(OFID), Suleiman J Al-Herbish, has concluded a high-level mission to
the Maldives, where he met with Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen
Abdul Gayoom, and signed a loan agreement to co-finance expansion of
the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. During the meeting with
President Yameen, Al-Herbish spoke of OFID’s “unwavering support” to
the socioeconomic development of the Maldives.
ofid.org
The Maldivian
President Abdulla
Yameen (r.) with
OFID Director-
General, Suleiman J
Al-Herbish.
PHOTOS: FOTOLIA, HOC, OFID, UNIDO
Carmentix and the University
of Melbourne announced the
„Preterm Birth Biomarker
Discovery“ initiative. The aim
of this collaborative clinical
study is to validate novel
biomarkers discovered by
Carmentix and biomarkers
previously discovered and
validated at the University of
Melbourne in a combined
panel and to assess the risk
for preterm birth as early as
20 weeks of gestation. „If
validated, this new panel of
biomarkers may shed hope to
significantly reduce the
number of preterm birth
cases on a global scale,“ said
Nir Arbel, CEO Carmentix.
carmentix.com
SURVEY
At the highest level
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
End of charges
Results of the GfK Consumer Climate Europe study for the fourth
quarter of 2016 show that consumer confidence experienced very
positive growth. The consumer climate for the 28 EU countries rose by
5.6 points to 17.9 points in December, its highest value since January
2008. The topics dominating headlines in Europe during the fourth
quarter of 2016 were the war in Syria, terrorism in Europe, the US
presidential election at the end of November, and the continued rise of
nationalist parties and tendencies in virtually all European countries. It
is clearly evident, however, that all this negative news has not rubbed
off on consumers.
gfk.com
As of 15 June, Europeans will be able to travel in the EU without roaming charges, after representatives of the
European Parliament, the Council and the Commission agreed on how to regulate wholesale roaming markets. It
means that when travelling in the EU, consumers will be able to call, send SMS or surf on their mobile at the same
price they pay at home. The agreement makes „roam-like-at-home“ sustainable for people and businesses, while
ensuring cost recovery and keeping national wholesale roaming markets competitive.
ec.europa.eu
UNIDO
For small enterprises
A delegation from the Bank of China (BOC) led by Executive
Vice-President Liu Qiang (pictured r.) met recently with Li Yong,
the Director General of the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna to explore joint
activities and discuss partnership modalities, with a particular
focus on supporting the growth of small- and medium-sized
enterprises. As the next step, the two parties will develop
concrete proposals for joint activities. unido.org
Liu Qiang (r.)
from the Bank of
China met UNIDO
Director General,
Li Yong.
70 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
71

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L’AUTRICHE INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Silicon Austria – Österreichs digitales Rückgrat
Silicon Austria – our country‘s digital backbone
Schluss mit dem Jammern: Österreichs Informations- und Telekommunikationsindustrie
ist Weltspitze und ihr Ruf dringt bis ins Silicon Valley.
Stop complaining – Austria‘s ICT industry is part of the world‘s Champions
League with a first class reputation even by Silicon Valley standards.
Text: Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
IKT in Österreich.
ICT in Austria.
Die Fakten: 60.000 Beschäftigte,
190 hochspezialisierte
Unternehmen, 76
Milliarden Euro Umsatz.
The facts: 60,000 employees,
190 hightech-companies,
76 billion Euro sales.
Tod auf Level eins – so wird es Ihnen wahrscheinlich
auch gehen, wenn Sie das erste Mal
den „Space Pirate Trainer“ im Wiener Research
Center for Virtual Reality and Visualization
(VRVis) am Tech-Gate gleich neben der UNO-City
ausprobieren. Das VRVis ist eine der Speerspitzen
der heimischen Informations- und Telekommunikationslandschaft
(IKT), ganz vorne mit dabei an der
Virtual-Reality-Front, und der Space Pirate Trainer
ist eines der besten VR-Spiele des Vorjahres.
Und es fühlt sich, nachdem Sie die VR-Brille aufgesetzt
haben, so an: Sie stehen allein auf einer Plattform
hoch über den Wolken auf einem fremden Planeten.
Hinter Ihnen ein cooler Raumgleiter, über
Ihnen ein bedrohliches Alien-Mutterschiff, vor Ihnen
auf dem Display winzige, sehr böse Kugeldrohnen,
die Sie mit diabolischen Kameraaugen ins Visier
nehmen und aus allen Rohren loslasern. Sie
weichen natürlich aus, wehren die tödlichen Strahlen
mit einem Schild ab und ballern zurück, was das
Zeuge hält – pfiff, pfiff, pfiff. Sie killen auch eine
Drohne nach der anderen, springen herum, um
nicht getroffen zu werden, fühlen sich schon wie
Han Solo. Aber irgendwann, ganz plötzlich von links
hinten, erwischt es Sie – vielleicht bei schlappen 350
Punkten so wie mich. Tod auf Level eins eben. Der
High-Score liegt bei 504.175 Punkten.
Wer einmal das VRVis besucht hat, der bekommt
eine recht gute Ahnung davon, dass der Slogan von
„Silicon Austria“ nicht ganz weit hergeholt ist und
dass Österreich tatsächlich in allen möglichen Bereichen
der IKT-Querschnittstechnologien global ganz
vorne mit dabei ist. Das ist natürlich ein weites Feld,
das auch hierzulande von Virtual- und Augmented-
Reality-Experimenten wie im VRVis über zur Herstellung
von Leiterplatten, wie bei AT&S oder Computerchips
etwa für Handys von Apple oder
Samsung, wie beim ams bis hin zu Künstliche-Intelligenz-Anwendungen
wie etwa beim Bilderkennungs-Startup
CogVis, reicht. Selbst die Experten
tun sich schwer, es genau abzustecken.
Grob gesagt, sind in diesem Sektor laut Fachverband
für Elektro- und Elektronikindustrie der Wirtschaftskammer
Österreich gut 300.000 Personen beschäftigt,
Tendenz rasch steigend. In der Studie
„Electronic Based Systems in Österreich“ (2016) hat
der neue Bundesminister für Verkehr, Innovation
und Technologie, Jörg Leichtfried, den Kernbereich
der IKT-Zukunftsbereiche genauer unter die Lupe
nehmen lassen. „Diese EBS sind die Basis für aktuelle
Schlüsseltechnologien“, sagt Leichtfried. „Sie machen
Maschinen intelligent und ermöglichen damit
Industrie 4.0, selbstfahrende Autos, intelligente Infrastruktur
oder das Internet der Dinge.“
Diese Untersuchung kommt zum Schluss, dass
über zehn Prozent des heimischen BIPs direkt oder
indirekt von solchen Produkten und Dienstleistungen
der Elektronikindustrie abhängen und in Österreich
jährlich „mehr als 60.000 in 188 Unternehmen
mit 190 Standorten beschäftigte Personen über 76
Milliarden Euro Umsatz“ erwirtschaften, davon
17,25 Milliarden Euro in Österreich.
Eine weitere Analyse des unabhänigigen Technologie-Beratungsunternehmens
technopolis, das sich
auf besonders forschungintensive IKT-Betriebe wie
zum Beispiel Infineon in Kärnten (F&E-Quote: etwa
25 Prozent) oder den oberösterreichischen Steuerungsspezialisten
Bernecker+Rainer (rund 14 Prozent)
konzentriert hat, kommt zu ähnlichen Ergebnissen.
Demnach halten etwa 130 hochspezialisierte
PHOTOS: FOTOLIA, HELGE BAUER (2), JOHANNES PUCH
Spezialisierte Cluster
Die heimische IKT-Branche
konzentriert sich in Wien,
Graz, Linz und Kärnten.
Specialised clusters, The
Austrian ICT industry is
concentrated in clusters in Vienna,
Graz, Linz and Carinthia.
74 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
75

L’AUTRICHE INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
IT-Infrastruktur.
Die modernen Netze der
Telekom Austria bilden das
Rückgrat der IKT-Industrie.
IT infrastructure. Telekom
Austria serves as the
backbone of the
country‘s ICT industry.
Virtuelle Realität.
Das Wiener Research Center for
Virtual Reality and Visualization
zählt zu den Top-VR-Forschungsinstitutionen
in Europa.
Virtual reality. The VRVis is one of
Europe´s leading research centers
for Virtual Reality.
heimische Betriebe in den Bereichen Mikroelektronik,
Embedded Systems und Smart Systems sogar bis
zu 85.000 Fachleute im Brot und haben innerhalb
von Österreich mehr als 15 Milliarden Euro Umsatz
in den Büchern stehen. Fazit: Der Begriff „Silicon
Austria“ ist alles andere als ein hohle Phrase.
Das Rückgrat dieser weit gefassten Hightech-
Branche bilden natürlich die knapp 100 heimischen
Forschungs- und Entwicklungseinrichtungen mit
knapp 4.000, meist akademischen, Beschäftigten, die
sich vor allem um die drei Universitäts-Zentren
Wien, Graz und Linz mit der Außenstelle für Computerwissenschaften
in Hagenberg gruppieren. Auch
in Kärnten sind an den Standorten Villach und Klagenfurt
F&E-Akteure vorhanden, „wobei hier im
Vergleich zu Linz oder Graz eine kritische Masse
fehlt“, wie die EBS-Studie anmerkt.
Rund um diese akademischen Hotspots haben
sich jene knapp 190 Betriebe angesiedelt, die in Sachen
IKT in Österreich den Ton angeben. Während
der Standort Wien klar von Equipment-Herstellern
dominiert wird, überwiegen in Linz die Komponenten-Erzeuger.
In Graz lässt sich fast die Hälfte der
Unternehmen ebenfalls dem Segment Equipment
zuordnen. Rund ein Viertel der Betriebe ist im Bereich
Software tätig. Und am Standort Klagenfurt
überwiegen auch klar die Equipment-Hersteller. Übrigens:
Etwa 30 dieser Hightech-Firmen dürfen den
begehrten Titel „Hidden Champion“ auf ihre Fahnen
heften. Das heißt: Sie sind unangefochtene Weltmarktführer
in ihrem – mitunter oft sehr großen –
Nischenbereich.
Wie so viele andere Branchen in Österreich, sind
auch die meisten IKT-Unternehmen noch einmal in
regionale Cluster unterteilt, die von intensiver Kooperation
und ständigem Nachschub an akademischen
Fachkräften aus den nahen Universitäten oder
angeschlossenen Forschungseinrichtungen geprägt
sind. In Oberösterreich und Niederösterreich etwa
dominierten die beiden Mechatronik-Cluster, in denen
es vorwiegend um den Geräte- und Apparatebau
sowie von speziellen Technologiekomponenten geht.
Rund um Hagenberg bei Linz hat inzwischen auch
der IT-Cluster internationale Anerkennung gefunden,
dessen Ruf in Sachen Industrie 4.0, IT-Security,
Neue Formen der Mobilität und Digital Business
sich sogar bis ins kalifornische Silicon Valley durchgesprochen
hat.
In Kärnten wiederum haben sich zwei Cluster herausgebildet:
Einer konzentriert sich ebenfalls auf
IT-Security, E-Commerce und Open-Source-Lösungen,
der andere ist landesweit als „Silicon Alps“ bekannt
und dort finden sich eher Betriebe, die mikroelektronische
Komponenten und Lösungen für
Consumer-Electronics – vom Handy bis zum Auto
– entwickeln. In der Steiermark spielt vor allem der
RFID-Hotspot eine immer bedeutendere Rolle. Falls
Sie bereits mit Ihrer Bankomatkarte kontaktlos bezahlen,
ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit hoch, dass der
„Radio Frequency Identification“-Chip von dort
stammt. In Tirol schließlich hat sich der dortige IT-
Cluster auf die Anwendungsbereiche Tourismus und
Gesundheit spezialisiert. Aber auch Entwicklungen
in den Bereichen IT-Sicherheit sowie die Themen
Vernetzte Systeme und Industrie 4.0 sind hier ganz
vorne gereiht. Und in Wien finden sich, kein Wunder,
all diese Clusterschwerpunkte.
PHOTOS: TELEKOM AUSTRIA, INFINEON, VRVIS (3), VRVIS/GCVISION.AT/ASFINAG, ERICH HUSSMANN, FREQUENTIS
Nicht umsonst hat der deutsche Technologie-Gigant
Siemens sein Entwicklungszentrum für den gesamten
CEE-Bereich in der Bundeshauptstadt angesiedelt.
„Wir schätzen die hohen technologischen
Kompetenzen und die guten und gewachsenen Beziehungen
zu den Zielmärkten in Zentral- und Osteuropa“,
so das Urteil von Harald Loos, dem Leiter
der Siemens Corporate Technology CEE, über die
Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologie-
Szene in Österreich. „Das sind natürlich wichtige
Voraussetzungen für Hightech-Projekte und neue
Marktchancen im Osten.“ Am besten bringt es vielleicht
Stefan Poledna, der Vorstand der Wiener
Hightech-Schmiede TTTech, ohne deren Steuerungs-Produkte
kein Auto fahren, kein Flugzeug
fliegen und kein Satellit im All schweben könnte, auf
den Punkt: „Österreich ist ein Top-Standort für F&E
im Bereich ‚embedded computing‘ und die Nähe zu
wichtigen Bildungseinrichtungen ermöglicht es,
hoch qualifizierte Arbeitskräfte für TTTech zu interessieren
und international einzusetzen.“
Kurzum: Keine Spur von Tod auf Level eins, sondern
Erfolg auf jedem IKT-Level.
Death on level 1 – you better prepare for that
experience when playing the „Space Pirate
Trainer“ for the first time at the Vienna
Center for Virtual Reality and Visualization (VRVis)
at the Tech-Gate, just a step away from the UN headquarters.
VRVis is one of Austria‘s leading institutions
in the information and telecommunications
technologies (ICT) landscape, doing research at the
frontiers of VR, and the Space Pirate Trainer is one of
the best VR-Games hitting the market last year.
Once you have mounted your VR gear, you will
find yourself standing on a plattform high above the
clouds of an unknown planet. At the back of you a
space glider, above a menacing alien mothership and
in front of you, on your display, a lot of tiny, evil drones
with diabolic camera eyes and throwing
thousands of deadly laser beams at you. You try to
avoid them by stepping aside, you defend yourself
with a shield, and you are shooting back like Han
Solo – swooff, swooff, swooff. But finally they get you
from behind, like me – and dead you are at level 1
with a mere 350 points. High score is at 504,175
points.
Anyone visiting the VRVis will start believing in
the slogan „Silicon Austria“, since it is only one of the
many examples for the country‘s ICT sector being a
top global player. The industry reaches out from state
of the art developments in Virtual and Augmented
Reality like at the VRVis via the production of curcuit
boards at AT&S or sensor chips for Apple and
Samsung handys to artificial intelligence applications
like the visual detection systems of the Vienna
based startup CogVis.
According to the Association of Electronic Industry,
the ICT sector employs some 300,000 persons in
Austria, with a rising tendency. And in a new study
(”Electronic Based Systems in Österreich“, 2016) the
Austrian Minister for Traffic, Innovation & Technology,
Jörg Leichtfried, concludes that ”more than
60,000 persons working at 188 companies with 190
locations are generating over 76 billion Euros of revenue“
in the ICT sector, with 17.25 billion Euros directly
in Austria. ”The EBS are the key-enabling-technologies“,
says Leichtfried. „They make machines
intelligent and they help realizing industry 4.0, selfdrining
cars, intelligent infrastructure or the internet
of things.“ Another analysis, provided by the independent
technology consultant „technopolis“, delivers
similar results. technopolis has concentrated on
Komplett-Systeme.
Wenn es um komplexe
Kommunikationssysteme
geht, ist das Wiener
Unternehmen Frequentis
eine der weltweit ersten
Adressen.
Complete systems. Anybody
looking for complex
communications systems will
certainly knock on the doors
of Vienna based Frequentis.
76 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Kärnten-Cluster.
Chip-Hersteller wie
Infineon dominierten
die IKT-Szene in
Kärnten.
Carinthian cluster. The
ICT landscape in
Carinthia is dominated
by chip producer
Infineon.
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
77

L’AUTRICHE INFORMATION & COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Vitale
Start-up-Szene.
Das Start-up Festival Pioneers
ist immer wieder voll von
neuen jungen IKT-Betrieben.
Vital start-up scene. Austria‘s
vital start-up landscape is full
of young ICT companies.
companies with an outstanding R&D-quota – like
Infineon in Carinthia (some 25 percent) or the producer
of electronic steering equipment
Bernecker+Rainer in Upper Austria (around 14 percent)
– and has counted some 130 highly specialised
firms in the areas of Microelectronics, Embedded
Systems and Smart Systems with up to 85,000 experts
employed and overall sales in Austria of at least 15
billion Euros.
Their backbones certainly consist of the nearly
100 Austrian research and development institutions
with around 4,000 mainly academic personal which
are located around the three university centers in Vienna,
Graz and Linz (including the near village of
Hagenberg, the home of computer sciences). In Carinthia,
mainly in Klagenfurt and Villach, some
R&D actors have emerged as well, ”but compared to
Linz and Graz, they are lacking a critical mass“, the
EBS study remarks. All these academic hotspots act
like gravitation centers magically pulling the ICT
companies under their umbrellas. Most of them are
producers of electronic equipment and components,
many are first class software developers and some 30
of them may even be called „Hidden Champions“ –
meaning that the companies are world market leaders
in their industry niches, which nevertheless often
amount to billion-dollar-markets.
In the course of specialisation, a couple of regional
clusters have emerged which are defined by intense
cooperation and a steady flow of academic experts
from the near universities and their R&D
agencies.
Upper and Lower Austria, for instance, are dominated
by two mechatronic clusters which concentrate
on device and equipment manufacturing technology
and are full of component suppliers. Also, the IT
cluster in Hagenberg near Linz has been successful
in building up an international reputation in the areas
of Industry 4.0, IT security, new forms of mobility
and digital business. In Carinthia, there are two main
clusters, one for IT security, E-commerce and Open
Source Solutions, the other is known as „Silicon
Alps“ because of its high-end components for mobiles
or cars. In Styria, the RFID hotspot is playing an
ever more important role. If you have a contactless
credit card, its ”Radio Frequency Identification“ chip
may well originate from there. Finally, the IT cluster
in Tyrol is dealing with solutions in the areas of tourism
and healthcare, IT security and has a focus on
networked systems and Industry 4.0. And in Vienna,
which is no wonder at all, you will find all of the cluster
topics in an outstanding concentration.
This is one of the reasons, why the German technology
giant Siemens has located its corporate technology
center for CEE in Austria. ”We not only value
the high level of technological competence but the
good and matured relations to the target markets in
Central Eastern Europe as well“, says Harald Loos,
the head of this department. ”Naturally these are important
pre-requisites for high-tech projects and
new market opportunities in Eastern Europe.” Maybe
there is no better verdict about Austrian ICT
scene than the one of TTTech-manager Stefan Poledna,
the leading aeronautics- and space technology
company: “Austria is a top location for R&D in the
field of embedded computing“, he says. ”The proximity
to important educational facilities enables TT-
Tech to interest and internationally deploy highly
qualified employees.“ In short: No trace of death at
level 1, but success on any level of ICT.
Raumfahrt-Technologie.
ITK-Unternehmen von
Siemens bis TTTech stehen für
den Hightech-Ruf Österreichs.
Space technology made in
Austria is provided by
companies like Siemens or
TTTech, only to name two.
PHOTOS: MICHAEL HOLMES, SEBASTIAN-KREUZBERGER, NASA/JPL-CALTECH (3)
INDUSTRIE +
FORSCHUNG =
ARBEIT +
WOHLSTAND.
Wissen ist Österreichs größtes Kapital. Die Übersetzung in Produkte
und Dienstleistungen schafft Arbeitsplätze der Zukunft.
Foto: dieindustrie.at/Mathias Kniepeiss
78 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
www.iv-net.at

L’AUTRICHE FUTURE LAB
Stefan Doboczky
Mit jeder Faser ein nachhaltiges Unternehmen
A sustainable company – with every fiber
Textile
Nachhaltigkeit
Textile sustainability
Der Vorstandsvorsitzende und CEO der Lenzing Gruppe über die Kreislaufwirtschaft in der Textilwelt.
The Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Lenzing Group talks about circular economy in
the textile world.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Der promovierte Chemiker
Stefan Doboczky (Doktorat an
der Technischen Universität Wien
und MBA der Schweizer Business
School IMD) verstärkt die Lenzing
Gruppe mit internationaler
Managementerfahrung und
langjähriger Asien-Expertise seit
Juni 2015. Davor war er seit 1998
in unterschiedlichen Führungspositionen
beim holländischen
Chemie-Konzern Royal DSM in
Europa und Asien tätig.
Stefan Doboczky holds a PhD in
chemistry from the TU Wien and a
MBA from Swiss Business School
IMD. Since June 2015, he brings to
Lenzing a broad international
management experience and
extensive expertise in Asia. Before,
he has worked in various
management positions for the
Dutch Life Science & Material
Science group Royal DSM in
Europe and Asia since 1998.
Kleidung ist ein Thema, worauf viele
Personen großen Wert legen. Nicht
jeder weiß allerdings, aus welchem
Material seine T-Shirts, Pullover und Hosen
oder seine Outdoor-Kleidung sind. Ein
Material, dass sich hervorragend für diese
Kleidungsstücke eignet, ist die botanische
Faser Tencel®. Sie wird von der Lenzing AG
in Österreich, Großbritannien und in den
USA erzeugt. Als Rohstoff wird Faserzellstoff
verwendet, ein Produkt, das ausschließlich
aus Holz gewonnen wird.
Die Lenzing AG produziert diese Faser
seit den neunziger Jahren im sogenannten
Lyocell-Verfahren im burgenländischen
Heiligenkreuz. Im Jahr 2004 wurde nach
einem längeren Bietergefecht der Konkurrent
Courtaulds übernommen und die
Produktionslinien in Großbritannien und
in den USA kamen dazu. Seit 2014 stellt
Lenzing die Tencel Faser auch am Stammsitz
in Lenzing her, in der weltweit größten
Anlage.
Weil die Nachfrage nach dieser sehr
hautfreundlichen und Feuchtigkeit-regulierenden
Faser höher ist, als das Angebot,
baut Lenzing jetzt eine weitere Produktionsstätte
neben das bestehende Werk in
Mobile, Alabama. Es soll 2019 in Betrieb
gehen. Nach der jüngsten Erweiterung in
Lenzing wird mit der Ausbau in Alabama
vor allem dem Umstand Rechnung getragen,
dass nicht nur die meisten Kunden der
Lenzing AG im Ausland zu Hause sind,
sondern dass die Fasern auch ausschließlich
in US-Dollar verrechnet werden, was
neben diesen Dollar-Einnahmen auch
Dollar-Ausgaben notwendig macht, um
den Schwankungen der Wechselkurse
nicht zu sehr ausgesetzt zu sein.
Mit dieser Investition von knapp 300
Millionen Euro will Lenzing den Anteil der
Spezialfasern am Gesamtumsatz von derzeit
etwa 43 Prozent auf 50 Prozent anheben.
Denn die Spezialfaser Tencel schwankt
im Preis nicht so stark wie die Standardfaser
Viscose, ein Schwesterprodukt, das
Lenzing ebenfalls an mehreren Standorten
aus dem Rohstoff Holz produziert.
Weil der Bekleidungs-Markt wächst
und wächst - derzeit werden im Jahr etwa
150 Milliarden Kleidungsstücke hergestellt
-, wächst auch die Herausforderung der
Entsorgung dieser T-Shirts, Hosen und
Röcke. Die Lenzing AG hat auf diese Herausforderung
jetzt eine erste Antwort gefunden:
In der neuen Faser Refibra TM wird
als Rohstoff der Zuschnittabfall aus der
Produktion von Baumwollbekleidung verwendet.
Dabei wird diese Baumwolle zu
Zellstoff verarbeitet und gemeinsam mit
klassischem Faserzellstoff wieder in eine
Tencel Faser verwandelt.
Die Refibra Faser wird derzeit vom
PHOTOS: FRANZ NEUMAYR, LENZING AG
weltweit größten Modehändler Inditex in
den Geschäften seiner Tochter Zara verkauft.
Sie ist ein Beitrag zur Kreislaufwirtschaft,
die in Zeiten von steigendem Kleidungsverbrauch
für die Branche eine
essentielle Zukunftsabsicherung ist.
Wem die Tencel Fasern noch nicht in
Kleidungsstücken begegnet sind, ist vielleicht
in Hygieneprodukten schon damit in
Berührung gekommen. Denn diese Faser
wird wegen ihrer biologischen Abbaubarkeit
innerhalb von längstens 26 Wochen
gerne in Feuchttüchern oder in kühlenden
Gesichtsmasken verwendet. Märkte, die
vor allem in Europa, den USA und in Japan
und China stark wachsen. Und Produkte,
auf die die Menschen in den Industrieländern
immer mehr Wert legen.
Clothing is something many people
attach great importance to. However,
not everyone knows exactly
which materials her or his T-shirts, pullovers,
trousers or outwear are made of. The
botanic fiber Tencel® is ideally suited to
make these garments. It is manufactured
by Lenzing AG in Austria, Great Britain
and the USA. The raw material used is dissolving
pulp, a product derived exclusively
from wood.
Lenzing AG has been producing this fiber
in Heiligenkreuz, Burgenland (Austria)
since the 1990s, applying the so-called
Lyocell process. Following a prolonged
bidding war, Lenzing acquired its competitor
Courtaulds in 2004 along with the production
lines in Great Britain and the USA.
Lenzing has also been making Tencel fibers
since the year 2014 in the world’s largest
Tencel plant located on the premises of
its heads office in Lenzing.
Demand for this very skin-friendly
and moisture-regulating fiber is higher
than the existing supply. For this reason,
Lenzing is building another production facility
next to its existing plant in Mobile,
Alabama (USA). The new plant is scheduled
to be put into operation in 2019. Following
the recent expansion in Lenzing,
the investments in Alabama not
only take account of the fact that most Lenzing
AG customers are outside of Austria,
but also that the fibers are only invoiced in
US dollars. Accordingly, expenditures in
US dollars are necessary alongside US dollar
income in order to avoid being overly
exposed to exchange rate fluctuations.
On the basis of investments totaling
close to EUR 300 million in the new factory,
Lenzing aims to raise the company’s share
of specialty fibers as a proportion of total
revenue to 50% from the current level of
43%. Selling prices for the specialty fiber
Tencel do not fluctuate as much as the
standard fiber viscose, a sister product also
produced by Lenzing from the raw material
wood at several of its plants.
The clothing market keeps growing, evidenced
by the approximately 150 billion
garments manufactured each year. The result
is a growing challenge to dispose of all
these T-shirts, trousers and skirts. Lenzing
AG has developed an appropriate response.
The new fiber Refibra TM utilizes waste
fabrics from the production of cotton
clothing as its basic raw material. This cotton
is processed into pulp and subsequently
converted into a Tencel fiber in combination
with conventional dissolving pulp.
The Refibra fiber is currently being sold
by Inditex, the world’s largest fashion retailer,
in the stores of its subsidiary
Zara. This fiber represents a contribution
to the circular economy and an essential
means of safeguarding the future of the industry
in times of increasing clothing consumption.
Whoever has not yet seen or heard
of Tencel in garments may have already
come acrosshygiene products containing
this fiber. Tencel is popular for use in
wipes or in cooling face masks due to its
biodegradability within a period of no
more than 26 weeks. These are fast-growing
markets, particularly in Europe, the
USA, Japan and China, and products people
in industrialized countries are putting
more and more emphasis on.
Die Lenzing Gruppe hat diesen Februar bei
Premier Vision in Paris, eine der weltweit
wichtigsten Stoffmessen, eine neue Fasergeneration
vorgestellt, die auf den Resten aus der
Produktion von Baumwollbekleidung basiert.
Refibra ist die erste Zellulosefaser, die neben
Holz als Rohstoff Recycling-Materialien
verwendet. Sie wird im Rahmen des sehr
umweltfreundlichen Tencel Produktionsprozesses
hergestellt. Damit treibt Lenzing neue
Lösungen in Richtung einer Kreislaufwirtschaft
in der Modebranche voran und bietet eine
Lösung für die Herausforderung, dass sich der
Bedarf an Kleidung bis zum Jahr 2025
verdoppelt haben wird. Denn 80 Prozent der
von uns nicht mehr verwendeten Kleidungsstücke
landen auf Mülldeponien. Jährlich werden
geschätzte 50 Millionen Tonnen an Kleidung
entsorgt. Transparenz wird in den Textilbranchen
immer wichtiger, um beispielsweise die
Herkunft von Materialien nachweisen zu
können. Damit Kunden sich auch sicher sein
können, dass die Faser aus Recycling-Material
tatsächlich in den Textilien zu finden ist, hat
Lenzing ein neues Identifikationssystem
entwickelt. Dieses System macht es möglich, die
Refibra Faser in den fertigen Textilien
festzustellen. Dadurch wird Transparenz in der
gesamten Verarbeitungskette sichergestellt.
Lenzing has developed a new fiber based on
cotton scraps and wood. Refibra is the first
cellulose fiber featuring recycled material on a
commercial scale and was launched this February
at Premier Vision textile fair in Paris. The
fiber is produced in the Tencel production
process. Refibra from cotton scraps and wood
will further build Lenzing‘s reputation as a
leader in the field of environmental fiber
technology and will push new solutions in the
textile industry towards circular economy by
recycling production waste. The eed for clothing
will be doubled by the year 2015. Since 80
percent of our used apparel end up as waste,
estimated 50 million tons of clothing are
disposed per year. Transparency becomes more
and more an issue in the textile industry to
prove for example material origin. To assure
customers that the fiber, made from recycled
material, is really in the textiles, Lenzing has
developed a new identification system which
makes it possible to identify the Refibra fiber in
the finished textile. This guarantees transparency
in the overall processing chain.
lenzing.com
80 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
81

L‘AUTRICHE BUSINESS
Neues aus Österreich
News from Austria
Text: Daniela Pötzl
Landwirtschaft | Agriculture
BIO-Europameister | ORGANIC European Champion
Stadt-Tourismus | City Tourism
Weitere Steigerung | Further increases
Mit 14,96 Mio. Gästenächtigungen hat Wien 2016 trotz schwieriger
geopolitischer Rahmenbedingungen sein bisher bestes Ergebnis aus 2015 um
4,4 % übertroffen. Rund 81 % der Gästenächtigungen 2016 in Wien waren
internationale Nächtigungen. Innerhalb Wiens zehn nächtigungsstärkster
Herkunftsmärkte wuchsen Deutschland, Österreich, Spanien, die Schweiz und
Frankreich im einstelligen Bereich. Zweistellig entwickelten sich – trotz Brexitbedingter
Pfund-Schwäche – Großbritannien und China, das 2016 erstmals in
Wiens Top 10 Einzug hielt.
With 14.96 million overnight stays in 2016, Vienna has, despite the current
difficult geopolitical circumstances, surpassed its record result from 2015 by
4.4%. Around 81% of overnight stays in Vienna in 2016 were international
stays. Vienna’s most crucial markets of origin in terms of overnight stays
were Germany, Austria, Spain, Switzerland and France, which grew by single
digits. Two-digit growth was observed for – despite the Brexit-imposed
weakness of the Sterling – the UK as well as China, which made it into
Vienna’s top 10 for the first time in 2016.
wien.info
PHOTOS: WIEN TOURISMUS/PETER RIGAUD, DRAGAN TATIC, ERWIN HAIDEN, SCHANTL PR
Die biologische Landwirtschaft in Österreich verzeichnete in den
vergangenen beiden Jahren ein beachtliches Wachstum. Immer mehr
Betriebe entscheiden sich für den Einstieg in die biologische Wirtschaftsweise.
2016 gab es in Österreich 21.820 Bio-Betriebe, das entspricht
einem Anteil von 19% von allen landwirtschaftlichen Betrieben. 571.585
Hektar werden biologisch bewirtschaftet (Stand 2016), was einen Anteil
von 22 Prozent an der landwirtschaftlichen Gesamtfläche bedeutet. Der
Flächenzuwachs pro Jahr - 2015 auf 2016 waren es etwa 26.500 Hektar
- entspricht in etwa der Größe von Malta bzw. etwa 38.000 Fußballfeldern.
Wenn schon nicht beim Fußball, so ist Österreich nach wie vor
Europameister in Sachen Bio.
Organic farming in Austria was able to score a significant increase in the
last two years. More and more businesses are joining the organic
agriculture market. In 2016, there were 21,820 organic businesses in
Austria, making up 19% of all agricultural enterprises. 571,585 hectares
are being cultivated organically (as of 2016), making up 22% of all
agricultural land. The land increase per year – from 2015 to 2016 – was
around 26,500 hectares, approximately the size of Malta or 38,000
football fields. And since we didn’t make it in football, Austria nevertheless
continues to be the European Champion when it comes to all things
organic.
bio-austria.at
Kultur | Culture
Kulturjahr Österreich-Kroatien | Cultural year
Austria-Croatia
Über 100 hochklassige und vielfältige Kulturveranstaltungen stehen im
gemeinsamen Kulturjahr Österreich-Kroatien unter dem Motto
„Gemeinsam Kultur erleben“ auf dem Programm. Eröffnet wurde es von
BM Sebastian Kurz, seinem kroatischen Amtskollegen Davor Stier (r.) und
Moderatorin Mirna Jukic. Die Begegnungen von Künstlern der beiden
Länder sollen dazu beitragen, dass langfristige Kooperationen auf
institutioneller Ebene herbeigeführt werden. Die über 62.000 Menschen
mit kroatischem Hintergrund, die heute in Österreich leben, bilden
übrigens die fünftgrößte Gruppe von ausländischen Staatsbürgern.
More than 100 high-class and diverse cultural events are set to take place
under the joint cultural year Austria-Croatia under the slogan “Experiencing
culture together”. The event was opened by Austria’s Minister for
Foreign Affairs and Integration Sebastian Kurz, his
Croatian counterpart Davor Stier and moderator Mirna
Jukic. The encounters between artists from the two
countries are meant to contribute to increasing long-term
collaborations on an institutional basis. The more than
62,000 people with a Croatian background living in
Austria today incidentally make up the fifth largest group
of foreign nationals in the country. bmeia.gv.at
Tourismus | Tourism
Nachhaltiger Nationalpark | Sustainable national park
Die Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen hat das Jahr 2017 zum „Internationalen
Jahr für Nachhaltige Tourismusentwicklung“ erklärt. Die Ferienregion Nationalpark Hohe
Tauern vertritt dabei Österreich als alpiner Beitrag bei der UNO. Die Ferienregion setzt
schon seit längerem auf sanfte Mobilität. Mit der „Nationalpark Sommercard Mobil“
können Gäste neben Gratis-Eintritten in allen Nationalpark-Ausstellungen, Museen, Bädern
und den Bergbahnen der Region auch ein Tagesticket auf die Großglockner Hochalpenstraße
und kostenlos Bus und Bahn in der Region benützen. Auto-Fahrten im Ausmaß von
60 Tonnen Treibstoff konnten so bereits 2016 eingespart werden.
The General Assembly of the United Nations has declared 2017 as the “International Year
for Sustainable Tourism Development”. The holiday region Nationalpark Hohe Tauern
represents alpine Austria at the UN. The holiday region has been putting an emphasis on
eco-friendly mobility for some time now. With the “Nationalpark Sommercard Mobil”
guests can, next to free entrance to all national park exhibits, museums, baths and
gondolas, also receive a day ticket to the Grossglockner Hochalpenstraße and free access
to buses and trains in the region. Car rides to the extent of 60 tonnes of fossil fuel have
thus already been saved since 2016.
nationalpark.at
Bildung | Education
Herzlich willkommen, Frau Direktor!
Welcome, Ms Director!
Die Danube International School hat eine neue Direktorin. Michelle Purghart har nach
mehrjähriger Tätigkeit als Direktorin in Kalifornien sowie Lehraufträgen in Südkorea und
den USA mit Beginn des Schuljahres 2016/17 die pädagogische Leitung der Danube
International School Vienna (DISV) übernommen. Purghart hat ein Doktorat in „Educational
Leadership“ von der UC Los Angeles und Irvine sowie einen „Master of Education“-
Abschluss mit Schwerpunkt Lehrplanentwicklung der Universität von San Diego. Ihre
Lehrqualifikation erwarb Michelle Purghart an der McGill University in Montreal für die
Fächer Englisch und Sport. Sie besitzt sowohl die kanadische als auch die tschechische
Staatsbürgerschaft und hat sich mit ihrem Ehemann und ihrem fünfjährigen Sohn in Wien
niedergelassen. „Ich bin von der Bedeutung des lebenslangen Lernens zutiefst überzeugt
und freue mich sehr über diese neue Herausforderung“, stellt die neue Direktorin fest.
The Danube International School has a new director. Michelle Purghart has, after a few
years’ duty as director in California as well as lectureships in South Korea and the USA,
taken over the pedagogical leadership of the Danube International School Vienna (DISV)
for the start of the academic year 2016/17. Purghart received a doctorate in “Educational
Leadership” from the UC Los Angeles and Irvine
as well as a “Master of Education” degree with
a focus on curriculum development from the
University of San Diego. Michelle Purghart
received her teaching qualifications from McGill
University in Montreal for the subjects English
and P.E. She possesses both Canadian as well as
Czech citizenship and has now moved to Vienna
together with her husband and her five-year-old
son. “I am very confident in the importance of
life-long learning and really look forward to this
new challenge,” the new director asserts.
danubeschool.com
82 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

SAVOIR
VIVRE
LUXURY-PENTHOUSES
IN THE HEART OF VIENNA
“Das Hamerling” represents urban luxury. In the heart of Vienna’s 8th district – the Josefstadt, these elegant apartments
are comfortably situated on a single level, ranging from 130 m² to 210 m². Each penthouse has a generous private terrace
with a breathtaking view – overlooking the Vienna skyline or the leafy Hamerlingpark.
PURE LUXURY – THE EXCLUSIVE SERVICES AT THE HAMERLING
Concierge service · underground parking · private restaurant with in-house-catering · fitness area · cleaning service ·
laundry service · nursery · private garden · situated directly on Hamerlingpark
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SICH ALLES UM DIE SCHÖNEN
DINGE DES LEBENS WIE KULTUR
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UND VIELES MEHR.
"SAVOIR VIVRE" FOCUSES ON
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A PROJECT OF ARE DEVELOPMENT,
MHH DEVELOPMENT AND SORAVIA GROUP

SAVOIR VIVRE EVENT LOCATIONS
Kommt, lasst uns feiern!
Come on, let’s celebrate!
Text: Daniela Pötzl
Das Angebot an Veranstaltungsorten der verschiedensten Art ist in Wien breit gefächert. So kann für jeden
Geschmack und jede Größe der Gesellschaft der richtige Rahmen sowohl für geschäftliche Einladungen als
auch private Feierlichkeiten gefunden werden. CD hat exquisite Locations für Sie zusammengestellt.
Vienna offers a great variety when it comes to event venues of any kind. There is something here for everyone,
no matter the style or group size, whether business gatherings or private celebrations. CD has put
together a list of the most exquisite locations for you.
1 Elegante Locations | Elegant locations
CASINO BAUMGARTEN
Festsaal mit Bühne | Festival hall with a stage
Das Casino Baumgarten verfügt über einen prachtvollen 285 m2
großen Festsaal mit Bühne und eine 200 m2 große Terrasse mit
direktem Übergang in den Casino-Park und bietet ausreichend
Platz in historischem Umfeld: 250 Gäste bei Gala-Bestuhlung,
600 Gäste bei Stehempfängen.
The Casino Baumgarten contains a magnificent 285 m2 large
festival hall with a stage, as well as a 200 m2 large terrace with
direct access to the casino park. It also provides plenty of space
within its historic environment: there is room for 250 seated and
600 standing guests.
casino-baumgarten.at
PALAIS DAUN-KINSKY
Meisterlicher Barock | Masterful Baroque
Wirich Philipp Lorenz Graf von und zu Daun, Fürst von Teano, ließ in den Jahren 1713 bis 1716
das beeindruckende Barockpalais errichten. Kein kaiserliches Anwesen ist derart reich mit
künstlerischen Schätzen ausgestattet. Auf den Mittelpunkt des Palais auf der Freyung, den
einzigen ovalen Festsaal der Stadt, war – so sagt man – sogar das Kaiserhaus etwas neidisch.
Count Wirich Philipp von und zu Daun, Prince of Thiano commissioned the construction of the
impressive Baroque palace between 1713 and 1716. No other imperial estate is as endowed with
this many artistic treasures. It is said that even the imperial court was somewhat envious of the
centre of the palace on the Freyung, the only oval festival hall in the city.
palaisevents.at
ALBERTINA
Zu Gast im Museum | Invitation to the museum
Das Museum nahe der Wiener Staatsoper birgt neben zahlreichen
Kunstschätzen ein weiteres historisches Juwel: die Habsburgischen
Prunkräume. Das einstige Wohnpalais der Herrscherdynastie
ist für Veranstaltungen jeder Art buchbar.
The museum close to the Vienna State Opera contains, next to
countless of artistic treasures, an additional historical jewel: the
Habsburg state rooms. The former living palace of the ruling
dynasty can be booked for events of any kind.
albertina.at
86 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
PALAIS SCHÖNBURG
Mit Pracht-Garten | With a splendid garden
Das über 300 Jahre alte Palais, geplant von Johann Lukas von
Hildebrandt, liegt inmitten einer 15.000 m2 großen Parkanlage.
Das aufwändig restaurierte Barockjuwel mit einzigartiger Akustik
steht für Firmenfeiern, private Feste, Pressekonferenzen, Seminare
oder Workshops mit bis zu 350 Personen zur Verfügung. Die
Rasenflächen auf beiden Seiten des Gebäudes (1.600 m2) sind
für Festzelte mit bis zu 500 Personen geeignet.
The more than 300-year-old palace, planned by Johann Lukas von
Hildebrandt, lies in the midst of a 15,000 m2 large park complex.
The elaborately restored baroque jewel with unique acoustics for
corporate events, private parties, press conferences, seminars or
workshops, can fit up to 350 people. The lawns on both sides of
the building (1,600 m2) are suitable for marquees with up to
500 people.
palais-schoenburg.at
PHOTOS: VON DEN LOCATIONS BEREITGESTELLT
PALAIS NIEDERÖSTERREICH
Prunk mit Technik | Pomp and modern equipment
Das Landhaus – der ehemalige Sitz des niederösterreichischen
Landtages – wurde detailgetreu renoviert und ist seit 2005 als
Palais Niederösterreich mit prunkvollen Räumlichkeiten und
modernster Technik für stilvolle Events buchbar. Für wärmere Tage
eignet sich auch der Innenhof als stimmungsvolle Kulisse.
The land house – the former seat of the parliament of Lower Austria
– was renovated with plenty of attention to detail and since 2005,
can be booked as Palais Niederösterreich with pompous rooms as
well as modern equipment for stylish events. On warmer days, the
inner courtyard also makes for an atmospheric backdrop.
palais-niederoesterreich.at
>>
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
87

SAVOIR VIVRE EVENT LOCATIONS
2 Trendy Locations
k47.wien
360° Rundumblick | 360° view
SCHLOSS LAUDON
Exotisch am Wasser | Exotic by the water
Der vollverglaste, zwei Stockwerk hohe Kubus sitzt als Rooftop auf dem
Kaipalast. Die rundum laufenden Terrassen bieten Rundumaussicht über
die Stadt. Herzstück ist eine LCD-Video-Wall von mehr als 5,3
Quadratmetern, bestens geeignet für eindrucksvolle Präsentationen mit
High-End Audiotechnik, Funkmikrofonen & Head Sets, WLAN und
diversen Präsentationsmonitoren.
The fully-glazed, two-story tall cube is located on top of the Kaipalast,
functioning as a rooftop. The completely surrounding terraces offer a
360° view around the city. The heart of the place is a more than 5.3
square metre big LCD video wall, ideally suited for impressive
presentations with high-end audio, wireless microphones & headsets,
wireless internet and various presentation screens. k47.wien
HAUS DER MUSIK
Für alle Gelegenheiten | For any occasion
Das Wasserschloss aus der Barockzeit bietet einen Freskensaal
mit exotischen Motiven, die Bibliothek mit der Originalausstattung
aus 1780 sowie das sogenannte Sisi-Zimmer. Im Schloss –
das seit 1976 als Schulungszentrum der Verwaltungsakademie des
Bundes fungiert – und seinen Nebengebäuden, stehen zudem
über 10 Seminarräume und eine Reihe von Gruppenräumen zur
Verfügung.
The water castle from the Baroque period offers a fresco hall with
exotic motifs, the library with the original decor from 1780 as well
as the so-called Sisi room. The castle, which has been used as the
training centre of the Federal Academy of Public Administration
since 1976, as well as its adjoining buildings, contain more than 10
seminar rooms and a series of group rooms.
bka.gv.at
Ob Konzert, Dinner, Firmenpräsentation oder Diskussionspanel: Der glasüberdachte Innenhof, das
Dachgeschoss mit Veranstaltungssaal und zwei Ebenen mit Blick über die Dächer Wiens bis zum
Stephansdom bieten im Haus der Musik mit technischer Ausstattung auf höchstem Niveau viele
Möglichkeiten, um Veranstaltungen außergewöhnlich zu machen.
Whether concerts, dinners, corporate presentations or discussion panels: the glass-roofed inner
courtyard, the top floor with an event hall and two stages providing a view across Vienna’s
rooftops all the way to St. Stephen’s Cathedral, offer countless of opportunities and high-end
technical equipment to make any event at the Haus der Music more than extraordinary.
hdm.at
>>
PALAIS SCHÖNBORN-BATTHYÁNY
Imperiales & Modernes | Imperial & modern
Die Bel Etage verbindet imperiales Ambiente mit moderner Kunst
und fortschrittlichster Technik und ist imperiale Location für
Pressekonferenzen, Meetings, Seminare, Gala-Abende oder
Konzerte. Geeignet für zwei bis 250 Personen, mit barockem Flair
sowie modernster Medientechnik.
The Bel Etage unites imperial ambience with modern art and
advanced equipment, making it the imperial location for press
conferences, meetings, seminars, gala evenings or concerts. It is
suitable for two to 250 people, with a Baroque flair as well as
state-of-the-art media equipment.
palaisschoenborn-freyung.at
VIENNA BALLHAUS
Kleinod im Hinterhof | Jewel in the rear courtyard
Die denkmalgeschützte Location in der Berggasse, mit dem
Speisesaal eines Gasthauses aus dem Jahre 1870, wurde 2016
stilecht revitalisiert. Der ehemalige Gartentrakt bietet nun eine
Mischung aus Biedermeier, Neo-Barock und Modernität. Die
Betreiber sind offen für alles – aber nur bis 2 Uhr morgens.
The protected landmark location at Berggasse with a dining room
in the style of an 1870s style guest house was restored true to its
original style in 2016. The former garden now offers a blend of
Biedermeier, neo-Baroque and modernism. The operators are open
to anything – but only until 2 in the morning.
viennaballhaus.com
PHOTOS: VON DEN LOCATIONS BEREITGESTELLT
AN IMPERIAL
NATIONAL DAY
CELEBRATION
Your National Day at Hotel Imperial Vienna.
Celebrate in Excellence.
RESERVATION & INFORMATION:
EVA SOMMER
GROUPS & EVENTS MANAGER
TEL. + 43 1 501 10 – 404
EVA.SOMMER@LUCURYCOLLECTION.COM
HOTELS THAT DEFINE THE DESTINATION
88 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
HOTEL IMPERIAL
A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL
KÄRNTNER RING 16 . 1015 VIENNA . AUSTRIA
WWW.IMPERIALVIENNA.COM
FOLLOW US
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SAVOIR VIVRE EVENT LOCATIONS
3 Aussergewöhnliche Locations | Extraordinary locations
GERSTNER SALONS PRIVÉS
Farbenfrohes Ambiente | Colourful ambience
Die neueste Location der Stadt, vis-à-vis der Wiener Staatsoper, in
prominenter Lage: Das prunkvolle Interieur bietet einen festlichen
Rahmen für repräsentative Bankette, Empfänge und individuell
inszenierte Events mit hauseigener Kulinarik. Die Salons stehen für
Abendveranstaltungen in Einzelnutzung oder als exklusives
Gesamt-Ensemble zur Verfügung.
The newest location in the city opposite the Vienna State Opera,
in a renowned spot: the splendid interior offers a festive space for
representative banquets, receptions and individually staged
events with in-house cuisine. The lounges are available for
evening events for single use or an exclusive entire ensemble.
gerstner.at
GARTENPALAIS LIECHTENSTEIN
Fürstliche Inszenierungen | Courtly stagings
Das Palais im Besitz der Familie Liechtenstein in der Rossau ist
mit seinem weitläufigen Park ein beliebter Ort für außergewöhnliche
Veranstaltungen und gern genutzte Kulisse für Filmdrehs und
Fotoshootings. Die wunderschönen barocken Räumlichkeiten, der
herrschaftliche Garten und die ehemaligen Damenappartements
können gebucht werden.
The palace owned by the Liechtenstein Family in Rossau, as well
as its spacious park, are a popular location for extraordinary
events and are often used as backdrops for film productions and
photo shoots. The beautiful Baroque rooms, the stately gardens
as well as the former ladies’ apartments can all be booked.
palaisliechtenstein.com
LIEBHARTSTHALER BOCKKELLER
Edel im Gasthaus | Exquisite times at the inn
Die Gebrüder Gammer besaßen in Ottakring ein Gasthaus, das inmitten eines weitläufigen
Gartens lag, der an die 2.000 Personen fasste. 1906 ließen sie ein zweites Gasthaus erbauen:
den Bockkeller. Der im ersten Stock gelegene lichtdurchflutete Saal „für besondere Anlässe“ mit
Deckenfresken und Elementen des Barocks und der Gründerzeit übt heute einen besonderen
Zauber aus.
The brothers Gammer owned a guest house in Ottakring, located at the centre of a spacious
garden, which could provide space for up to 2,000 people. In 1906, they commissioned the
construction of a second inn: the Bockkeller. The light-flooded hall, located on the first floor and
marked by frescoed ceilings and elements from the Baroque and founding days, continues to cast
a spell on onlookers to this day. wvlw.at
NATIONALBIBLIOTHEK
Stilsicherer Rahmen | Stylish setting
Moderner Purismus oder doch lieber barocke Pracht? Die
unterschiedlichen Epochen und Stilrichtungen verleihen am
Josefsplatz oder in der Herrengasse jeder Veranstaltung ein
einzigartiges Flair. Die freie Wahl von Catering-, Technik- und
Dekorationsunternehmen garantiert absoluten Gestaltungsspielraum
für bis zu 1.300 Gäste.
Modern purism or rather Baroque opulence? The various different
epochs and styles at Josefsplatz square or at Herrengasse provide
any event with a unique ambience. The wide selection of catering,
equipment and decoration companies ensures plenty of creative
freedom for up to 1,300 guests. onb.ac.at
HAUS DER INGENIEURE
Modern & Geschichte | Modern & history
Das Haus der Ingenieure wurde mit seiner Revitalisierung zu
einer unverwechselbaren Location voll Geschichte und
Substanz. Nach Vorbild englischer Clubhäuser in der
Formensprache der italienischen Renaissance errichtet,
bietet es den perfekten Rahmen für Events, klassische
Konzerte oder Konferenzen.
The regeneration of the Haus der Ingenieure has made it an
unmistakable location full of history and substance. Modelled
after English club houses and inspired by the forms of the
Italian Renaissance, it offers the perfect space for events,
classic concerts or conferences.
hdi-wien.at
anyact.at
PHOTOS: VON DEN LOCATIONS BEREITGESTELLT
PALAIS SCHÖNBURG
The ”Residence for Events“ is located in the center of Vienna (4th district), surrounded by 15.000 sqm of beautiful garden.
This elegant Baroque Palace is the ideal location for receptions, gala dinners, presentations, company and private events.
90 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
www.palais-schoenburg.at

SAVOIR VIVRE CONNOISSEUR
Essen und trinken mit Stil
Wine and dine in style
Text: Daniela Pötzl
Landung in Schwechat
Touch down in Schwechat
Jamie Oliver hat sich nach dem Brexit-Votum nach neuen Standorten umgesehen. Nun kommt der britische Starkoch auch nach
Österreich. Am Flughafen Wien werden im Terminal 3 auf Ebene 1 künftig auf mehr als 800 m2 „Jamie´s Deli“, „Jamie´s Italian“ und eine
freistehende Bar zu finden sein. Umgesetzt werden die Lokale bereits ab diesem Frühjahr bis zur Jahresmitte 2018.
Jamie Oliver started looking around for new locations after the Brexit vote. And now the British celebrity chef is going to be coming to
Austria. Soon visitors to Vienna Airport will be able to enjoy his culinary offerings at “Jamie´s Deli”, “Jamie´s Italian” and a free-standing
bar in Terminal 3 on level 1 covering an area of more than 800 m2. They will be opening between this spring and the middle of 2018.
foodtravelexperts.com, viennaairport.com
Die Welt des guten Brotes |
The world of great bread
Innovatives am Spittelberg | Innovative cuisine at Spittelberg
Harald Brunner,„Urgestein“ der Wiener Gastronomieszene und zuletzt im Heurigen Spaetrot in Gumpoldskrichen (NÖ) als Spitzenkoch
tätig, verwöhnt nun im „Das Spittelberg“, dem ehemaligen Kussmaul. Das innovative und dabei unverkrampft-kreative Konzept bietet,
getragen von einer Rotisserie von Molteni, (Wiener) Küche in Höchstform: Chili-Blunzen und Krautvariationen bis hin zu im Ganzen
gebratenen Stücken vom Dry-Aged-Beef, zartes Iberico-Schwein, Ente, frische Fische aus heimischen Gewässern und erlesene
Gemüsevariationen von der Wiener Gärtnerei Bach. Neben Kaffee von Alt Wien werden im hauseigenen Wintergarten, dem „Salettl“,
auch traditionsreiche Wiener Desserts wie Apfelstrudel, soufflierte Topfen-Palatschinken und saisonale Tartes serviert.
Harald Brunner, a “veteran” of Vienna‘s culinary scene and most recently the top chef at the Heuriger Spaetrot restaurant in
Gumpoldskirchen (Lower Austria), now treats guests to his delicacies at “Das Spittelberg”, formerly Kussmaul. The innovative and
laid-back creative concept, with a rotisserie from Molteni taking centre stage, offers (Viennese) cuisine at its best – chilli
blackpudding, various cabbage recipes through to dry-aged beef roasted whole, tender Iberico pork, duck, fresh fish from local
waters and select vegetables from Gärtnerei Bach plant nursery in Vienna. Guests can enjoy coffee from the Alt Wien coffee
roasters in the restaurant‘s own conservatory, “Salettl”, as well as traditional Viennese desserts such as apple strudel, souffléed
curd pancakes and seasonal tarts. das-spittelberg.at
PHOTOS: JOACHIM HASLINGER, BOCUSE D´OR, JAMIE OLIVER, ANDREA PELLER, BEIGESTELLT, ÖWM/HIMML, PIZZA BROS
Siegreiche USA | Victorious USA
Das Finale der Jubiläumsausgabe des internationalen Köche-Wettbewerbs
„Bocuse d’Or“, der heuer sein 30-jähriges Jubiläum feierte, ging auch heuer
wieder in Lyon über die Bühne. 24 der vielversprechendsten Köche der Welt
traten im Finale gegeneinander an. Am Ende gewann Mathew Peters aus
New York, die Silber- und Bronze-Medaillen gingen an Norwegen und
Island. Österreich schaffte es vorab heuer nicht in die Qualifikation.
The finale of the “Bocuse d’Or” international cooking contest, which is
celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, took place in Lyon again this
year. 24 of the most promising chefs in the world competed. Mathew
Peters from New York won, silver and bronze went to Norway and
Iceland. Austria didn‘t qualify this year. bocusedor.com
Die Reise zum Wein | The journey to wine
Vinexpo präsentiert mit „Vinexpo Explorer“ ein innovatives Markenkonzept
für die Weinwelt, bei dem flüssige Pretiosen nicht im Konferenzraum
getestet, sondern vor Ort besucht werden. Den Auftakt wird heuer Österreich
von 11. bis 12. September bestreiten. Eine exklusive Auswahl von 100
internationalen Weinhändlern wird verkosten und persönliche Kontakte zu
den teilnehmenden Weingütern knüpfen können. Gruppenreisen in die
Weinbaugebiete bieten dann einen detaillierteren Austausch und weiterführende
Geschäftsverhandlungen.
“Vinexpo Explorer” from Vinexpo is an innovative brand concept, unique in
the world of wine, which includes visiting wine growers and tasting their
fine wine locally instead of simply in a meeting room. It kicks off this year
in Austria 11 to 12 September. 100 international wine merchants have been
carefully selected to taste wine and meet the participating vineyards.
Group tours to the wine-growing regions in turn provide the perfect
opportunity to network and do business. vinexpo.com
TOP 5 OPENINGS
Neu in Wien | New in Vienna
Moderne österreichische
Küche
/ Modern Austrian cuisine
ludwigvan.wien
Paris in Wien
/ Paris in Vienna
La Mercerie, Berggasse 25,
1090
Extravagante Bar
/ Exceptional bar
no99.at
Trendy Poké Bowls & Sushi
Burritos
missmaki.at
Brot ist sein Leben. Nun schlägt Bäckermeister Fritz
Potocnik nach über 40 Jahren Berufserfahrung mit
BROTocnik ein neues Kapitel auf. In seiner Backstube
wird traditionell handwerklich gearbeitet und mit
biologisch unbehandelten Mehlen und Getreiden
gebacken. Des Bäckers Werke sind auch in Wien
erhältlich. Wer mehr wissen mag, kann auch einen der
stets schnell ausgebuchten Kurse mit ihm in der Ersten
Waldviertler Bio Back-Schule besuchen.
Bread is his life. Now after more than 40 years of
professional experience, master baker Fritz Potocnik is
starting a new chapter in his life with BROTocnik. He
uses traditional techniques and bakes with organic
flour and grains at his bakery. His produce is also
available in Vienna. Anyone interested in finding out
more about bread can also take part in one of his
courses which always book out quickly, at the Erste
Waldviertler Bio Back-Schule baking school.
brotocnik.at, bio-backschule.at
Vom dunklen Korn |
All about the dark grain
Auf Österreichs Feldern
wächst mehr Roggen als in
den gesamten USA. Für die
Waldviertler Destillateurin
Jasmin Haider-Stadler
(Whiskydestillerie Haider) und Autor Roland Graf mit
ein Grund, dem Getreide eine längst überfällige
Würdigung zu widmen. Die beiden zeichnen in
„Roggen‘ Roll – die erstaunliche Karriere eines
Getreides“ den Aufstieg des Roggens, aber auch seine
Ablöse durch Neu-Züchtungen wie Triticale nach.
More rye grows in Austria‘s fields than in the entire
USA. For Jasmin Haider-Stadler, a distiller from
Waldviertel in Lower Austria (Whiskydestillerie
Haider), and author Roland Graf simply one more
reason to pay homage to this grain and give it the
recognition it deserves. In “Roggen‘ Roll – die
erstaunliche Karriere eines Getreides” (“Rye‘n‘Roll –
the amazing career of a grain”) the two portray the
rise of rye as well as how new varieties such as
triticale knocked it off its perch. shop.roggenhof.at
Pizza aus Sauerteig
/ Pizza with sour dough
pizzabros.at
92 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
93

SAVOIR VIVRE TRAVEL
Fernweh
Itchy Feet
Die besten Hotels und Restaurants aus aller Welt. | The best hotels and restaurants around the world.
Text: Gerald Sturz
PHOTOS: BEIGESTELLT
Paris
Le Roch Hotel
Aus Paris ist von einem neuen, sehr stylischen
Pied-à-terre zu berichten. Das kleine, intime Le Roch
Hotel, das zur Gruppe der Design Hotels gehört, ist ein
ruhiger Rückzugsort inmitten der Stadt. Mit seinem
grünen Innenhof, seinem Hammam, seinem Spa und
mit seiner freundlichen Innengestaltung strahlt es
Eleganz und Stil aus. Die Lage ist ausgezeichnet: Es
liegt im 1. Arrondissement, es ist nicht weit zum
Louvre, zur Place Vendôme – und zu den Luxusboutiquen
an der Rue Saint-Honoré.
Paris boasts a new ultra stylish pied-à-terre. The small
intimate Le Roch Hotel, which belongs to the group of
Design Hotels, is a peaceful retreat in the heart of this
bustling city, radiating elegance and style thanks to its
courtyard garden, hammam, spa and friendly interior
design. Its location is excellent, in the 1st Arrondissement,
not far from the Louvre, Place Vendôme and the
luxury boutiques on Rue Saint-Honoré.
designhotels.com
Marrakesch / Marrakech
Amanjena
Nach einer umfassenden Renovierung hat das Amanjena Resort am Rand von Marrakesch vor einige Zeit
wiedereröffnet. Amanjena heisst „friedliches Paradies“ und genau das ist dieses Resort auch. Mit seinen
rötlichen Säulen, erdigen Tönen und türkisfarbenen Elementen im Pool und Wasserbecken spiegelt das
Amanjena die Farben der Olivenhaine, Berberdörfer und des Atlasgebirges in der Umgebung wider. Im
Amanjena findet der Gast zwei hervorragende Restaurants, das eine mit marokkanischer, das andere mit
japanischer Küche, eine großzüge Wellness-Anlage, mehrere Pools, eine Bar, einen Teesalon, eine
Bibliothek, Zigarren- und Schischa-Lounge. Gleich nebenan ist der Platz des Golfclubs Amelkis, nicht weit
ist es zum Royal Golf Club, dem ältesten und exklusivsten Golfclub von Marrakesch.
The Amanjena resort on the outskirts of Marrakech reopened a while ago after a thorough refur-bishment.
Amanjena means “peaceful paradise” and that perfectly describes this resort. Amanjena, with its red
columns, earthy tones and turquoise elements in the pool and water basin, reflects the colours of the
nearby olive groves, Berber villages and Atlas mountains. Guests will find two excel-lent restaurants here,
one serving Moroccan and the other one Japanese cuisine, as well as a spa-cious spa, several pools, a bar, a
tearoom, a library and a cigar and hookah lounge. The Amelkis Golf Club is right next door and the Royal
Golf Club, the oldest and most exclusive golf club in Mar-rakech, is only a few minutes away.
aman.com
94 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Mauritius
Constance Belle Mare Plage
An einem der schönsten Strände an der Ostküste von Mauritius befindet sich
das Constance Belle Mare Plage Resort. Nach einer umfangreichen Renovierung
hat es kürzlich in neuem Glanz eröffnet. Vieles, das dem Resort seinen
unverwechselbaren Charakter gegeben hat, wurde erhalten. Dank eines
überarbeiteten Designs und einer neuen Farbpalette, erscheint es nun verjüngt
und frisch. So wird es ganz den Ansprüchen der heutigen Zeit gerecht. Die
Schlafzimmer, Suiten und Villen wurden in einem schicken Stil komplett neu
gestaltet. Jetzt fügt sich das Constance Belle Mare Plage noch besser in seine
natürliche Umgebung ein und unterstreicht die bevorzugte Lage: an einem zwei
Kilometer langen weißen Sandstrand, umgeben von tropischem Grün. Auch der
im Jahre 1994 eröffnete Golfcourse Legend wurde aufpoliert. Die dichte
Vegetation wurde gelichtet und die Löcher 1, 2, 4, 9 und 18 wurden neu
angelegt. Somit entstand eine komplett neue Topographie mit einem besseren
Gesamtblick über die Löcher.
The Constance Belle Mare Plage resort lies on one of the most beautiful
beaches on the east coast of Mauritius. It recently reopened in new splendour
after undergoing an extensive renovation. The resort has retained many
elements that had given it its distinctive character. Thanks to the revised design
and a new colour scheme, it now looks fresh and rejuvenated and in line with
modern standards. The bedrooms, suites and villas have been given an elegant
makeover. Constance Belle Mare Plage now blends better with its natural
setting while emphasising its advantageous location – on a white sandy beach
stretching two kilometres, surrounded by tropical greenery. The Legend Golf
Course that opened in 1994 was also revamped. The dense vegetation was cut
back and the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 9th and 18th holes redone, creating a completely new
topography and an improved overall view of the holes.
bellemareplage.com
New York City
Flora Bar & Coffee
Nicht nur Besucher des Met Breuer Museums an der Madison Avenue steuern zielstrebig Flora Bar &
Coffee, das Restaurant des Museums, an. Auch für New Yorker, die gerade nicht auf einen Museumsbesuch
aus sind, ist das Lokal an der Upper East Side zu einem kulinarischen Treffpunkt geworden. Das liegt an den
wunderbaren kleinen Tapas-ähnlichen Häppchen, die Küchenchef Ignacio Mattos zubereitet. Auch Frühstück
und Lunch sind eine Empfehlung wert. Die „homemade sticky buns“, die zum Frühstück serviert werden,
haben die New York Times kürzlich zu einer echten Lobeshymne veranlasst. Man tut gut daran, sich sein
Gebäck bereits am Vortag reservieren zu lassen: Die „sticky buns“ sind schnell ausverkauft.
Not only visitors to the Met Breuer Museum on Madison Avenue head straight to Flora Bar & Coffee, its
restaurant. Even New Yorkers who have no intention of visiting the museum go to the restaurant on the
Upper East Side to simply enjoy the culinary offerings. Not surprising, once you have tasted the wonderful
tapas-like delicacies prepared by the master chef Ignacio Mattos. But breakfast and lunch are just as
delicious. The New York Times recently praised the homemade sticky buns served at breakfast. It‘s best to
reserve the sticky buns the day before you want to buy them as they sell out very quickly.
florabarnyc.com

SAVOIR VIVRE TRAVEL
Your stay
in the heart of Vienna
www.my-place.at
Our two elegant apartment hotels
MyPlace City Centre and MyPlace
Riverside are centrally located
and offer exclusive contemporary
accommodation!
Messenien / Messenia
Costa Navarino
Messenien, die Region an der Westküste der Halbinsel Peloponnes, ist eine außergewöhnlich schöne, vom
Massentourismus noch verschont gebliebene Gegend: Sie hat großartige Strände, mit der Bucht von Voidokilia
eine der schönsten Meeresbuchten Europas, endlose Olivenhaine und Ausgrabungen aus mykenischer und
frühhellenistischer Zeit – und mit der Costa Navarino auch ein Urlaubsziel der Extraklasse. Hier befinden sich zwei
Luxusresorts, das Romanos und das Westin, die jeden nur erdenklichen Luxus und Vergnügen bieten. Der
Golfplatz The Dunes Course, der von Bernhard Langer entworfen wurde, wurde im vergangenen Jahr von der
International Association of Golf Tour Operators als “European Golf Resort of the Year” ausgezeichnet.
Messenia, the region on the west coast of Peloponnese, is an exceptionally beautiful area, still un-spoilt by mass
tourism. It has great beaches (Voidokilia bay is one of the most beautiful bays in Europe), endless olive groves
and archaeological finds dating from the Mycenaean and Early Hel-lenistic periods. Costa Navarino is also a
holiday destination extraordinaire. There are two luxury resorts here, The Romanos and The Westin, offering an
abundance of luxury and pleasure. The golf course designed by Bernhard Langer was presented the “European
Golf Resort of the Year” award by the International Association of Golf Tour Operators last year.
costanavarino.com
New York City
Le Coucou Restaurant
New Yorks Gourmets können sich zur Zeit gar
nicht vor Begeisterung über das sehr stylische
Restaurant Le Coucou einkriegen. Küchenchef ist
Daniel Rose, ein Amerikaner, der in Paris mit
seinen Bistros Spring und La Bourse et La Vie
einen durchschlagenden Erfolg hatte. Die Küche
des Restaurants, das sich im sehr schicken,
ebenfalls sehr angesagten 11 Howard Hotel im
Stadtteil Soho befindet, ist von einer raffinierten
Interpretation französischer Klassiker geprägt;
auch die Weinliste macht Eindruck. Die
Zeitschrift New York bezeichnete Le Coucou
neulich als das „absolute best new restaurant in
New York“.
New York‘s gourmets can barely contain their
excitement about the very stylish Le Coucou restaurant
at the moment. Daniel Rose is the head
chef, an American who enjoyed huge success in
Paris with his bistros Spring and La Bourse et La
Vie. Located in the very chic and trendy 11
Howard Hotel in Soho, the restaurant‘s cuisine is
shaped by refined twists on French classics and
an impressive wine list. New York magazine
recently described Coucou as the “absolute best
new restaurant in New York”.
lecoucou.com
PHOTOS: BEIGESTELLT
MyPlace City Centre
Vorlaufstrasse 3 | A-1010 Vienna
MyPlace Riverside
Rossauer Lände 23 | A-1090 Vienna
Whether for one week, for one month or for a
whole year – by yourself or with your family –
on business or pleasure – or even for medical
reasons, our serviced apartments offer everything
you may require to make you feel comfortable
and relaxed.
• Beautiful and centrally located in the
1st and 9th district of Vienna
• Boutique Residence
• Spacious and fully furnished accommodation
(37m² to 105m²) with one or more
bedrooms
• Luxurious studios, suites and apartments
feature functional and elegant décor
• The modern ambience is characterized by
exquisite design and warm colors
• Fully equipped kitchenette including
Nespresso coffee machines
• Complimentary WIFI
• Complimentary use of the fitness room
and business corner
• Roof terrace with views over Vienna
We offer „all-day“ concierge services and our
staff are available for any questions or requests.
Central Sales & Reservations
Tel.: +43 1 317 17 17 - 75
Fax: +43 1 513 17 17 - 77
Email: reservations@my-place.at
96 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

SAVOIR VIVRE TABLE TALK
Zum Lunch im Hotel Meliá Vienna | Lunch at the Hotel Meliá Vienna
General Manager Bastian Becker lud zu drei köstlichen Gängen im „57 Restaurant & Lounge“ im höchsten Gebäude Österreichs.
General Manager Bastian Becker invited to a delicious three-course lunch at the ”57 Restaurant & Lounge“ in Austria’s tallest building.
Text: Daniela Pötzl
BASTIAN BECKER
GM Bastian Becker im Gespräch
mit CD Chefredakteurin Daniela
Pötzl. GM Bastian Becker with
CD´s Editor in chief, Daniela Pötzl.
Beef Tatar mit Frühlingszwiebeln,
Grammeln & Grammelbutter.
Beef Tartare with spring onions, greaves
& greaves butter.
PHOTOS: HOTEL MELIÀ VIENNA, PÖTZL
Als ich pünktlich kurz vor 12 Uhr
den DC Tower 1 nahe der Wiener
UNO City betrete, erwartet mich
General Manager Bastian Becker schon am
Empfang. Doch da erspäht er plötzlich einen
ihm bekannten Gast, plaudert nur unweit
von mir charmant und sagt dann
schmunzelnd herbeieilend zu mir: „Diese
Dame kenne ich von einem CD-Event.“
Diplomatie verbindet eben.
Wir besteigen den Lift, der uns in nur
27,5 Sekunden zu den beiden obersten
Ebenen ins „57 Restaurant & Lounge“
bringt. Die stets prachtvolle Aussicht lässt
heute auf sich warten. Optimistisch entscheiden
wir uns trotzdem für einen Tisch
bei der großzügigen Fensterfront. Die folgenden
drei Gänge bringen Farbe auf den
Tisch und Sonne im Herzen, nicht zuletzt
durch den freundlichen und kompetenten
Service.
Seit April 2016 ist Bastian Becker nun
als General Manager im Meliá Vienna,
dem ersten Hotel der spanischen Kette in
Österreich, im Einsatz. Der gebürtige Freiburger
absolvierte die Hotelfachschule
Heidelberg. Angeregt zu deren Besuch
wurde er nicht zuletzt durch einen langjährigen
Ferien- und Aushilfsjob während der
Schulzeit in einer Metzgerei mit angeschlossener
Gastronomie, erzählt er während
der Vorspeise, dem Beef Tatar. Seine
Hotel-Karriere startete er dann bei Dorint.
Gemeinsam mit seiner Frau und seinen
beiden Söhnen bewohnt Becker nun ein
Haus nahe der Stadt. „Wien verbindet Tradition
und Moderne perfekt und bietet ein
abwechslungsreiches kulturelles Angebot“,
stellt er beim Hauptgang – Lammstelze für
ihn und Rinderfilet für mich – fest.
Das Meliá Vienna ist für die Hotel-
Gruppe ein prestigeträchtiges Flaggschiff.
In Zukunft will das Haus noch mehr
Corporate Gäste ansprechen und deren
Partnerhotel sein. „Wir bieten diverse
Veranstaltungs räumlichkeiten für alle
Gelegen heiten, sei es für ein Meeting oder
gar für einen Ball“, so Becker.
Unter Beckers Leitung arbeiten Menschen
aus 32 Nationen, fast wie eine Art
eigene kleine UNO City. Bastian Becker ist
mit jedem einzelnen Teammitglied, eine
„Meeting-Kultur“, in der alles auch persönlich
besprochen werden kann, wichtig,
denn: „Ich möchte als Vorgesetzter greifbar
sein.“
Gerade wird das Dessert, ein Calvadosmousse,
serviert. Bastian Becker erzählt
mit Verve von den Neuerungen beim
Sonntagsbrunch, der auch von externen
Gästen sehr geschätzt wird: „Der neue
SKYLIFE@MELIÁ-BRUNCH57 bietet
Schmankerl in Buffetform sowie eine Live
Cooking Station.“ Exklusiv sind die neuen
„Austern Girls“, die die Meeresfrüchte mit
einem Bauchladen anbieten.
Und wo verbringt ein Hotel-Manager,
der ein so außergewöhnliches Haus führt,
selbst gerne seinen Urlaub? „Da ist meine
Frau immer der Scout und bucht kleine
Hotels, so z.B. in der Toskana. Da nehme
ich mich dann auch ganz bewusst aus dem
„Analyse-Modus“ raus“, bekennt er abschließend
beim Espresso. Am Pool im
Weinberg kann dann auch der Fachmann
einfach entspannen.
When I arrived at the DC Tower 1
just in time before 12:00, near
the Vienna International Centre
(UNO City), General Manager Bastian
Becker already expected me at the reception.
But then he suddenly spots the familiar
face of a guest, charmingly chats with her
for a second or two and then tells me, ”I
know this lady from a CD event.“ Well, diplomacy
never fails to connect.
We enter the elevator which, in only
27.5 seconds, takes us up to the two highest
floors where the ”57 Restaurants & Lounge“
is located. No sight of the usually marvellous
view today, however. Nevertheless, we
optimistically opt for a table next to a large
window façade. The following three courses
bring colour to the table and joy to our
hearts, especially in consideration of the
friendly and competent staff and service.
For around a year now, Bastian Becker
has been on duty at the Meliá Vienna. The
Freiburg native graduated from the Heidelberg
Hotel Management School. One of his
inspirations to join the industry was a longterm
holiday and temporary job during his
school days at a butchery with an adjacent
restaurant, he tells me during the appetiser,
beef tartar. His hotel career then began at
Dorint. Since April 2016, he has been the
General Manager at the Meliá Vienna, the
Spanish chain’s first hotel in Austria.
Together with his wife and his two sons,
Becker now lives in a house close to the
city. ”Vienna perfectly combines tradition
and modernity and provides a very diverse
cultural programme,“ he declares during
the main course. The Meliá Vienna is a
prestigious flagship for the NH Group. In
the future, they plan on appealing to even
more corporate guests and becoming their
partner hotel. ”We offer a diverse set of
event spaces for all occasions, whether
meetings or even a ball,“ says Becker.
Under Becker’s leadership, people from
32 nations work together as if they were a
little UN city of their own. Bastian Becker
cares about every single team member.
This is also demonstrated by his approach
to staff meetings, where everything can be
personally discussed. ”I want to be approachable
as a boss,“ he says.
The dessert, a calvados mousse, is being
served. And then our discussion also turns
a little more ”culinary“. With passion, Bastian
Becker tells of the changes in the Sunday
brunch, which is also very much appreciated
by external guests. ”The new
SKYLIFE@MELIÁ-BRUNCH 57 offers delicious
treats in the form of a buffet as well
a live cooking station. The beef tartar is
also available,“ he reveals smilingly. Exclusively,
the new ”Oyster Girls“ serve the
fresh seafood from a hawker’s tray.
And where does a hotel manager who
leads such an extraordinary hotel like to
spend his own holidays? ”My wife is the
scout when it comes to holidays and prefers
to book small hotels, in Tuscany for example.
Then I also very consciously switch
off my ‘analytic mode’,“ he reveals during
the final espresso. And thus, even the industry
expert finally gets to relax a little by
a vineyard pool.
startete seine Hotel-Karriere bei Dorint. Erste Erfahrungen sammelte er
im Rooms Division Bereich, bevor er in die Direktionsebene aufstieg.
Nach seiner Tätigkeit für die NH-Hotels, wechselte er 2013 zur Meliá-
Gruppe. Seit April 2016 ist er General Manager im Meliá Vienna.
began his hotel career at Dorint. He collected his first experience in the rooms
division before moving up to director level. After having worked for the Spanish
hotel chain NH Hotels, he started to work for the Meliá Group in 2013. Since
April 2016, he has been the General Manager at the Meliá Vienna.
INFO:
MELIÁ VIENNA
Donau City Strasse 7
1220 Wien
Tel.: +43 (0) 1 90104
melia.com
57melia.com
Küchenchef Rene Poysl und sein Team verwöhnten mit Bio
Rinderfilet mit Bratkartoffeln und Gemüse zum Hauptgang und
einem Calvadosmousse mit eingelegten Äpfeln und Estragoneis als
Dessert. Chef Rene Poysl and his team spoiled with organic beef filet
with roast potatoes and vegetables for the main course and calvados
mousse with soused apples and tarragon icecream as dessert.
98 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
99

SAVOIR VIVRE CHECK IN
Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna
Ein Gespräch mit GM Peter Knoll | A conversation with GM Peter Knoll
Interview: Daniela Pötzl
Über welche Veranstaltungs- bzw. Banketträumlichkeiten,
die für Botschaftsempfänge geeignet sind, verfügen Sie?
Das Herzstück unseres Bankettbereichs ist der Ballsaal Theophil. Mit
281 m2 ist er der größte Veranstaltungsraum des Hauses und bietet
Platz für bis zu 265 Personen. Neben unseren weiteren acht
Konferenzräumen bietet unser Executive Board Room das Highlight
für ein High-Tech Meeting. Und unsere Henri Lou Event Location
schafft das richtige Flair für einen exklusiven Empfang oder ein
Gala-Essen in kleiner Runde.
PHOTOS: PALAIS HANSEN KEMPINSKI VIENNA
Wodurch zeichnet sich Ihr Hotel aus?
Das Palais Hansen Kempinski ist modern, innovativ und unkonventionell.
Gelebte Geschichte trifft auf modernes Lebensgefühl und das
spiegelt sich auch architektonisch wider: Historische Elemente und
zeitgemäßes Design verschmelzen mit einfachen Linien und klaren
Farben.
Welche Charakteristika machen Ihr Haus so besonders?
Sei es der eigene Butler, die besonderen Blumenarrangements oder
einfach nur die außerordentlichen kulinarischen Kreationen – wir
bemühen uns darum, für unsere Gäste besondere und unvergessliche
Erlebnisse zu schaffen, indem wir kompromisslos unsere Aufmerksamkeit
auch auf die kleinsten Details richten. Unser motiviertes und
engagiertes Team geht akribisch auf Wünsche ein, sodass sich die
Gäste immer ‚special‘ fühlen.
Welche Suiten haben Sie im Angebot?
54 Suiten und fünf verschiedene Kategorien mit einer Wohnfläche bis
zu 320 m2 bieten – mit klassischem Design, Wiener Stilelementen,
dezenten Farben und edlen Stoffen – die perfekte Atmosphäre für
jeden Aufenthalt. Die Präsidenten Suite, unser Highlight unter den
Suiten, erstreckt sich entlang des Schottenrings.
Wie sieht es mit den Sicherheitsvorkehrungen aus?
Das Hotel ist rundum freistehend und die Tiefgarage liegt außerhalb
der Hotelmauern, was eine Sicherung des Gebäudes ungemein
unterstützt. Die permanent abgesicherten Treppenhäuser wie auch
Aufzüge lassen keinen externen Besucher in die Gäste-Etagen dank
des elektronischen Kartenzugangs. Ein ausgeklügeltes CC-TV
Überwachungssystem lässt eine lückenlose Sicherung aller
öffentlichen Bereiche wie übrigens auch in der Präsidenten Suite zu.
Welche Business Facilities bieten Sie?
Alle Zimmer sind mit WLAN sowie dem iPad-Entertainment-System
ausgestattet, das nicht nur die Steuerung sämtlicher Funktionen im
Raum, sondern auch Bestellungen beim Room Service, Buchungen
von Spa-Treatments und die Lektüre von Tageszeitungen ermöglicht.
Besonders erwähnenswert ist: Das Business Center hat 24 Stunden
geöffnet – an 365 Tagen im Jahr.
What makes your hotel exceptional?
The Palais Hansen Kempinski is modern, innovative and unconventional.
Lived tradition meets modern lifestyle and this is also reflected
architecturally: historic elements and contemporary design blend with
simple lines and clear colours.
What features make your hotel so special?
Whether the personal butler, the special flower arrangements or just
the extraordinary culinary creations – we try to create special and
unforgettable experiences for our customers by focusing our
attention on even the smallest details. Our motivated and dedicated
team is very meticulous when it comes to our guests’ wishes so that
they are guaranteed to always feel special.
What types of suites do you offer?
54 suites and five different categories with a residential area of up to
320 m2 with classic design, Viennese stylistic elements, gentle colours
and exquisite fabrics provide the perfect atmosphere for any stay. The
Presidential Suite, our highlight when it comes to our suites, stretches
along the Schottenring boulevard.
Which kinds of safety precautions do you take?
The hotel is completely detached and the underground car park is
located outside of the hotel walls, which is extremely beneficial in
terms of the security of the building. The permanently secured
staircases, as well as the elevators, keep external visitors from
entering the guest floors thanks to exclusive access via electronic
card. An ingenious CCTV security system allows for a seamless
safeguarding of all public areas as well as the Presidential Suite.
What business facilities do you offer?
Every room is equipped with wireless internet as well as an iPad
entertainment system which not only allows for controlling various
functionalities in the room but also for ordering room service, booking
spa treatments as well as requesting newspapers. Especially worth
mentioning: the business centre is opened 24 hours a day, 365 days
a year.
What type of event or banquet rooms do you have which are
suitable for embassy receptions?
The Theophil ballroom is the heart of our banquet area. With 281 m2
it is the biggest event room in the building and provides space for up
to 265 people. Next to our additional 8 conference rooms, our
Executive Board Room is another highlight for high-tech meetings.
And our Henri Lou event location provides the right atmosphere for
any kind of exclusive reception or a gala dinner for a small group.
INFO:
PALAIS HANSEN KEMPINSKI VIENNA
Schottenring 24
1010 Wien
Tel.: +43/ (0) 1 236 1000
kempinski.com
General Manager Peter
Knoll über das Palais Hansen
Kempinski Vienna.
General Manager Peter Knoll
about the Palais Hansen
Kempinski Vienna.
100 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 101

SAVOIR VIVRE HIDEAWAYS
Wunderbare Fluchten
Great Escapes
Zeit für eine frühlingshafte Auszeit? Wir haben vier Empfehlungen für Sie! | Time for a spring break? We have four recommendations for you!
Willkommen im Puradies!
Welcome to ”Puradies“!
MEHR ENTSPANNUNG
MORE RELAXATION
In absoluter Alleinlage ist in Leogang (Salzburger Land) mit
dem neuen Puradies auf 500.000 m2 ein unvergleichliches
Wohlfühlareal entstanden. Mit seinen 14 Luxus-Chalets
(60-120m2 groß) sowie 80 stylischen Zimmern und Suiten
mit 4* Superior Service, begeistert es mit ganz besonderem
Flair. Ideen aus aller Welt wurden mit Holz aus dem eigenen
Wald umgesetzt. Für die Bar aus 16.000 Eichenholzwürfeln
hat Gastgeber Michael Madreiter in Asien seine
Inspiration gefunden. Das Badhaus „Innere Mitte“ – von
außen eine romantische Berghütte aus sonnengegerbten
Altholzbalken – birgt im Inneren eine ultimative Wellnessoase
mit 360°-Himmelsblick. Die größte Suite des Hauses ist
80 m2 groß und bietet zudem das 35m2 große Private Spa
„Wolke 7“ (auch als Day Spa buchbar). Und im Natursee vor
dem Badhaus können Gäste an warmen Tagen gerne
abtauchen. Das puradiesische Lebensgefühl findet in
unterschiedlichen Restaurants, unter anderem mit der
Verwendung von Produkten aus der eigenen Bio-Landwirtschaft,
einen weiteren Höhepunkt. Auf sportlich Aktive
warten Wanderwege und Klettersteige, ein 720 Kilometer
langes Rad- und Mountainbikenetz sowie Europas größter
Bikepark, 120 Kilometer Lauf- und Nordic-Walking-Strecken,
Canyoning, Rafting und Golfplätze.
The new ”Puradies“ is a 500,000 m2 feel-good zone in a
perfect solitary location in Leogang (Salzburger Land).
With its 14 luxury chalets (60-120 m2 areas) as well as 80
stylish rooms and suites with superior four-star service, it is
bound to astonish with its unique flair. Ideas from all over
the world are realised through wood from the local forest.
Host Michael Madreiter found inspiration for the bar made
of 16,000 oak wood cubes in Asia. The bath house ”Innere
Mitte“ (inner centre) – from outside a romantic mountain
hut made of sun scorched and aged wood beams – contains
the ultimate wellness oasis, as well as a 360° sky view. The
biggest suite is 80 m2 big and additionally provides a 35 m2
private spa area ”Wolke 7“ (which can also be booked as a
day spa). And guests are also more than welcome to take a
dive into the lake in front of the bath house. More joie de
vivre can be enjoyed in the various restaurants, which,
among other things, boast with organic local produce.
Sports enthusiasts can look forward to the hiking trails and
climbing routes, a 720-kilometre-long cycling and mountain
bike network and Europe’s biggest bike park, 120 kilometres
of running and Nordic Walking trails, canyoning, rafting and
a golf course.
Ratscher Landhaus
Die Süd-Steiermark lässt sich hier von ihrer schönsten Seite
genießen, mitten in den Weinbergen. Ab Mai stehen die
neuen Panoramazimmer bereit. Verwöhnt wird man mit
steirischem Backhendl, hausgemachten Mehlspeisen und
einer Kollektion feiner Weine.
The south of Styria can be enjoyed from its best side in the
midst of the vineyards. Starting in May, there will be new
panorama rooms available here as well. Additionally, you
will be spoiled with Styrian deep-fried chicken, homemade
pastries and a collection of fine wines.
ratscher-landhaus.at
102 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Ansicht eines Schlafzimmers
(oben) und der außergewöhnlichen
Bar aus Holz (r.).
View of a sleeping room (top) and
the exceptional bar, made from
wood (r.).
Die Gastgeber Philipp und Michael
Madreiter (oben, von l.), das
Badhaus (l.) und darunter eine
kulinarische Köstlichkeit, zubereitet
von Küchenchef und Haubenkoch
Andre Stahl.
Philipp and Michael Madreiter are the
hosts (top, from l.), the bath house
(l.) and below a culinary delight,
prepared by toque-chef Andre Stahl.
PHOTOS: PURADIES, FOTO@DER-MACHER.AT, MATTHIAS KRONFUSS, DAS REGINA
INFO:
Puradies
Rain 9
5771 Leogang
Tel.: +43/(0) 6583/ 8275
puradies.com
Villa Antoinette
Dieses feinsinnig renovierte Jugendstil-Juwel am Semmering
bietet bis zu 13 Personen Platz und wird bevorzugt an
geschlossene Gruppen vermietet. Besondere Extras: die
wunderbare Gartenterrasse, das beheizte Außenschwimmbecken
und sogar ein eigenes Heimkino.
This lovingly renovated Art Nouveau jewel at Semmering
provides space for up to 13 people and is preferably rented
to closed groups. Special features: the wonderful garden
terrace, the heated exterior swimming pool and even a
home cinema. villa-antoinette.at
Hotel Regina
Olaf Krohne verliebte sich als
Kind in Bad Gastein. Heute
betreibt er dort ein Hotel, das
er mit viel Verve, Stil und Mut
zu einem Hot Spot für
Großstädter gemacht hat. So
lebt der ehemalige Top-Kurort wieder wunderbar auf.
As a child, Olaf Krohne fell in love with Bad Gastein. Today,
he operates a hotel there which he has turned into a hot
spot for city dwellers with plenty of vigour, style and
bravery. The former excellent spa town has thus found new
life. dasregina.com

SAVOIR VIVRE VIENNA MUSICALS
Konnichiwa Elisabeth!
Privet Vampirov!
In Toki o schmachtet Elisabeth, in Moskau tanzen die Vampire. Musicalproduktionen
aus Wien sind international gefragt wie nie zuvor und finden vom Fernen
Osten über Russland bis zum Broadway ihr begeistertes Publikum.
Elisabeth yearning in Tokyo, vampires dancing in Moscow. Musical productions
from Vienna are in international demand like never before and find especially
enthusiastic audiences in the Far East, Russia and on Broadway.
Text und Interview: Rois & Stubenrauch
PHOTOS: TOHO ASAMI; EMK; TOHO LT.D.
ELISABETH.
Über 11 Mio. Besucher
haben das Erfolgsmusical
weltweit
gesehen.
More than 11 million
viewers enjoyed the
succesful musical
worldwide.
Gleich vierfach stand Kaiserin Elisabeth im
blendend weißen Kleid auf der Bühne, flankiert
von zahlreichen weiteren Hauptrollen
in mehrfacher Besetzung. Die Vervielfachung der
Charaktere des Erfolgsmusicals „Elisabeth“ letzten
Herbst in Osaka war allerdings nicht einem besonders
kreativen Regieeinfall geschuldet. Vielmehr gab
die Takarazuka Theater-Kompanie das Musical anlässlich
seines 20-jährigen Bühnenjubiläums in Japan
als aufwändige Show, die sämtliche Hauptdarstellerinnen
aller neun Produktionen der letzten 20 Jahre
auf der Bühne vereinigte.
20 Jahre Elisabeth in Japan
Mit der Aufnahme von „Elisabeth“ ins Repertoire
der Takarazuka Revue, einer sehr populären, rein
weiblichen japanischen Musiktheatertruppe, begann
1996 die internationale Erfolgsgeschichte der Musicals
aus Wien. „International hat das Wiener Musical
einen äußerst guten Ruf “, betont Franz Patay, seit
dem Wechsel seines Vorgängers Thomas Drozda an
die Spitze des Kulturministeriums im Mai 2016, nun
Geschäftsführer der Vereinigten Bühnen Wien.
„Man spricht mittlerweile sogar von einem eigenen
Genre, das die Vereinigten Bühnen Wien begründen
konnten: Das Wien-Musical!“ Insbesondere im Fernen
Osten laufen VBW Produktionen wie „The Visit“
(auf Deutsch: „Der Besuch der Alten Dame“),
„Rudolf “ und natürlich „Elisabeth“. Mittlerweile
knackte die erfolgreichste deutschsprachige Musicalproduktion
weltweit die 11 Millionen Zuschauer
Marke – mit anhaltendem Erfolg. „Wir bemerken
gerade in Japan eine große Faszination österreichischer
Stoffe. Das Kaiserreich ist sicherlich aus der
dortigen Geschichte heraus ein sehr beliebtes Thema,
auch ist der Sisi-Kult dort weit verbreitet.“
Erfolgreich auch in Shanghai und Moskau
Japan ist jedoch nicht das einzige Land, in dem
die Wiener Musicals Erfolge feiern. In 21 Ländern
und 16 Sprachen, von Südkorea bis zum Broadway
waren die VBW-Musicals schon zu erleben. Zur Jahreswende
etwa stand „Mozart!“ im Shanghai Culture
Square Theatre am Spielplan. Als einmonatiges Gastspiel
in deutscher Sprache, für das sämtliche Original-Kulissen
und -Kostüme in Containern mit der
Transsibirischen Eisenbahn nach China transportiert
wurden – ebenso wie beim „Elisabeth“ Gastspiel
vor zwei Jahren. „Das Shanghai Culture Square sucht
sich grundsätzlich nur handverlesene Produktionen
mit sehr hoher Produktionsqualität aus, umso schö-
MOZART!
Der südkoreanische Star Park Eun-tae in der Hauptrolle einer Produktion des
Musicals in Seoul.
The South Korean star Park Eun-tae in the main role of a musical production in
Seoul.
104 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 105

SAVOIR VIVRE VIENNA MUSICALS
DON CAMILLO & PEPPONE.
Die jüngste Koproduktion der Vereinigten
Bühnen Wien mit dem Theater St. Gallen
läuft seit Januar im Wiener Ronacher.
Since this January, the youngest co-production
of VBW and Theater St. Gallen is on the
programme at Vienna´s Ronacher.
SCHIKANEDER.
Das VBW-Musical soll bald auch am Broadway zu sehen sein.
The VBW musical is soon to be scheduled at the Broadway.
musical’s 20-year stage anniversary by uniting all the
lead actresses from all nine productions of the last 20
years.
REBECCA.
Oak Joo Hyun als Mrs.
Danvers in der südkoreanischen
Produktion des
VBW-Musicals, nach dem
Roman von Daphne du
Maurier.
Oak Joo Hyun plays Mrs.
Danvers in the South Korean
production of the VBW
musical, adapted from a
novel by Daphne du Maurier.
ner also, dass unsere Musicals für sie die erste Wahl
waren“, meint Patay zufrieden. Über Lizenzproduktionen
auf Chinesisch sind jedenfalls bereits Gespräche
mit Produzenten vor Ort am Laufen.
Bereits seit 2011 läuft „Tanz der Vampire“, für dessen
Produktion es den Vereinigten Bühnen Wien
gelang, Oscarpreisträger Roman Polanski zu gewinnen,
sehr erfolgreich in Sankt Petersburg. Im Oktober
2016 ist das Musical nach Polanskis Kultfilm nun
auch in Moskau angelaufen. Patay: „Das russische
Publikum liebt „Tanz der Vampire“, ich war selbst bei
der Premiere in Moskau und war überwältigt von
den Reaktionen der Zuschauer.“ Mit weltweit mehr
als 8 Millionen Besuchern ist die Geschichte um die
nicht ganz so furchtlosen Vampirjäger „Elisabeth“
inzwischen bereits dicht auf den Fersen. Insgesamt
über 23,5 Millionen Zuschauer haben die Musicals
der Vereinigten Bühnen Wien in den letzten 20 Jahren
gesehen. Bis zu einer Million Musicalfans besuchen
jedes Jahr die internationalen Produktionen
der VBW – gut 500.000 sind es in Wien. Und während
die Wiener Aufführungen mit rund 21 Millionen
Euro jährlich subventioniert werden, lukriert
die VBW mit jedem Ticket ihrer internationalen
Gastspiele und Lizenzproduktionen gutes Geld.
Schikaneder am Broadway
„Wir haben das Glück, dass wir bei den Vereinigten
Bühnen Wien wirklich ausschließlich hochqualifizierte
Mitarbeiter haben, die auf höchstem internationalem
Niveau arbeiten“, sieht Christian Struppeck,
Musicalintendant der VBW, einen entscheidenden
Grund für den Erfolg. Die großen Namen der Musicalwelt
geben sich daher in Wien die Klinke in die
Hand. So hat etwa Sir Trevor Nunn, dreifacher Tony-
Award Preisträger, bei der im Herbst angelaufenen
Neuproduktion „Schikaneder“ Regie geführt. Die
Musik stammt aus der Feder des dreifachen Oscar-
Gewinners Stephen Schwartz. Für das Musical um
die turbulente Entstehungsgeschichte der Zauberflöte
laufen denn auch bereits Verhandlungen um eine
Aufführung am Broadway – gerüchteweise mit Hollywood-Star
Hugh Jackman in der Hauptrolle!
Hochkarätige Neuproduktion in der Warteschlange
Neben der für September 2017 angesetzten Premiere
eines Musicals mit den Hits von Austropop
Legende Rainhard Fendrich durchläuft mit „Der
Dritte Mann“ gerade ein weiterer, hochspannender
Wien-Stoff die VBW Musical Schmiede. Die Weltpremiere
im Ronacher ist für 2018 anvisiert. Auch
hier konnte mit Oscar Preisträger Christopher
Hampton und dem Komponisten George Fenton,
der für den Score von „Ghandi“ verantwortlich
zeichnete, wieder ein sehr hochkarätiges Team gewonnen
werden. Wie die Oscar prämierte Bildsprache
des Schwarz-Weiß-Klassikers auf die Musicalbühne
geholt wird, ist noch ein gut gehütetes
Geheimnis – dass mit „Der Dritte Mann“ die internationale
Erfolgsgeschichte der Vereinigten Bühnen
Wien fortgeschrieben wird, steht aber jetzt schon
fest.
Dressed in her white dress, Empress Elisabeth
appeared on stage no less than four times,
accompanied by many more multiply cast
lead roles. The idea of diversifying the characters of
the highly successful musical ”Elisabeth“ for the performance
in Osaka last autumn was, however, not
due to an act of ingenious directorial creativity.
Much rather, it was the Takarazuka theatre company
itself which facilitated an extravagant show for the
PHOTOS: EMK; VBW / DEENVANMEER
20 years of Elisabeth in Japan
The inclusion of ”Elisabeth“ into the Takarazuka
Revue’s repertoire in 1996, a very popular and completely
female Japanese music theatre group, marked
the beginning of the Viennese musical’s international
success story. ”The Viennese musical enjoys a
very high international reputation,“ stresses Franz
Patay, Managing Director of Vereinigte Bühnen
Wien (VBW) since his predecessor Thomas Drozda’s
switch to the top of the Ministry of Culture in May
2016. ”They’re already talking about a genre of its
own, founded by VBW: the Vienna Musical!“ Particularly
in the Far East, VBW productions such as
”The Visit“, ”Rudolf “ and of course ”Elisabeth“ – meanwhile
the most successful German-language musical
production which has reached the 10 million viewer
mark – run with continuous success. ”We are
currently noticing a huge fascination in Japan when
it comes Austrian works. The Austrian Empire is, surely
due to the local history, a very popular topic there,
and the Sisi cult is also very widespread there.“
Successful in Shanghai as well as Moscow
Japan, however, is not the only country in which
Viennese musicals are enjoying tremendous success.
So far, VBW musicals have been presented in 21
countries and in 16 languages, from South Korea to
Broadway. At the turn of the year, for example, ”Mozart!“
hit the stage of the Shanghai Culture Square
Theatre. A one-month-long guest performance in
German, for which the entire set of original props
and costumes were shipped to China in containers
via the Trans-Siberian Railway, just like for the ”Elisabeth“
guest performance two years ago. ”The
Shanghai Culture Square generally only handpicks
productions with extremely high production values
which makes it even more special for us that our musical
was their first choice,“ Patay says contently.
Talks with local producers are already underway regarding
licensed productions in Chinese.
”Dance of the Vampires“, for which VBW managed
to commission Oscar-winning director Roman
opening hours:
Monday - Saturday
12:00-15:00 and 17:30-23:00
Sundays and public holidays
17:30-22:00
Patara - Fine Thai Cuisine
Petersplatz 1 1010 Wien
+43 1 997 1938-0
106 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
www.patara-vienna.at

Christian Struppeck
VIENNA MUSICALS SAVOIR VIVRE
Christian Struppeck ist Musical-Intendant
der Vereinigten Bühnen Wien und u.a. Autor
der Musicals „Schikaneder“ und „Der
Besuch der alten Dame“. | Christian
Struppeck is the Musical Director of the
Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW) as well as
the author of the musicals ”Schikaneder“
and ”The Visit“.
DER BESUCH DER ALTEN DAME.
Das Musical nach Friedrich Dürrenmatts Klassiker feiert in
Japan große Erfolge.
The musical, adapted from Friedrich Dürrenmatt´s classic, is a
big hit in Japan.
VBW-Musicals in Wien:
Sie waren kürzlich mit den VBW für ein
Gastspiel in Shanghai. Wie hat das Publikum
im Culture Square Theater„Mozart!“
aufgenommen?
Die Premiere in Shanghai war sehr beindruckend,
wie auch schon 2014 bei „Elisabeth“ - dieses Mal
vielleicht sogar noch ein wenig emotionaler. Ganz
generell ist zu sagen, dass in Asien, noch mehr als
bei uns, Opulenz bei der Ausstattung von Musicals
sehr wichtig ist. Persönlich finde ich es immer sehr
spannend, die verschiedensten Inszenierungen
unserer Musicals in den diversen Partnerländern
anzusehen, da dies künstlerisch neue Aspekte zeigt
und die Show in einem anderen Licht präsentiert.
Wie transportieren Sie das Wiener Flair bei
den Musicalaufführungen in der jeweiligen
Landessprache, etwa in Japan oder Korea?
Ich denke, alleine durch die österreichische
Geschichte, die in vielen Produktionen essentieller
Teil der Handlung ist, transportieren unsere
Musicals Wiener bzw. österreichischen Flair in die
Welt.
Wie stellen Sie bei den Lizenzproduktionen
den hohen Standard der VBW Musicals, was
die Musik und Ausstattung anbelangt, sicher?
Wir sind bei unseren Lizenzproduktionen immer in
alle wesentlichen künstlerischen Prozesse
involviert, sei es Regiekonzept, Bühnenbild,
Kostüme oder Casting. Auch inhaltliche
Änderungen aufgrund der kulturellen Unterschiede
werden von uns mit den Autoren diskutiert. Das
wichtigste ist, stetig in gutem Kontakt mit den
Partnern zu bleiben.
Gibt es manchmal auch so etwas wie ein
Kulturclash bei den internationalen
Aufführungen der VBW?
Ja, immer wieder. Beispielsweise hat „Der Besuch
der alten Dame“ in Japan ein anderes Ende als bei
uns in Wien. Es ist dort undenkbar, dass die
weibliche Hauptrolle, Claire Zachanassian, im
Schlussbild in eine andere Richtung abgeht als der
Totenzug von Alfred Ill. In Korea werden manche
Kleinigkeiten im Text von „Mozart!“ oder
„Elisabeth“ geändert, da viele historische Aspekte
hierzulande Allgemeingut, vor Ort aber unbekannt
sind.
Spielen bei der Auswahl der Stoffe
touristische Überlegungen, welches
Wien-Bild mit den Musicals transportiert
werden soll, eine Rolle?
In der Entwicklung neuer Musicals versuchen wir in
erster Linie Stoffe zu finden, die dem österreichischen
Publikum gefallen könnten. Erst danach denkt
man an die Lizenzierung ins Ausland. Wenn man
aber bedenkt, dass über 23,5 Millionen Menschen
weltweit eine unserer Produktionen gesehen haben,
dann glaube ich sehr wohl, dass dies einen
positiven Einfluss auf den Tourismus nach Wien hat.
Recently, you had the chance to present a guest
performance at the Culture Square Theatre in
Shanghai. How did the Chinese audience
respond to “Mozart!”?
The premiere in Shanghai was very impressive, just
as it was for “Elisabeth” back in 2014. Perhaps it was
even more emotional this time around. Generally, it
seems that Asia values opulence in the decor of a
musical even more than we do in Austria. Personally,
I always find it very exciting to see the different
implementations of our shows in the various partner
countries, as this always reveals new artistic aspects
whilst presenting a show in a different light.
How do you bring the Viennese flair to the
performances in Japan or Korea for example,
which are performed in the local national
language?
I think that Austrian history itself – an essential
element in the plots of many of our productions
– helps transport the Viennese or Austrian flair of
our musicals into the world.
The VBW’s musical productions have reached a
very high standard when it comes to music and
decor. How do you ensure that the licensed
productions meet this standard?
We are always involved in all the crucial artistic
processes of our licensed productions, whether
directorial conceptualisation, stage design,
costumes or casting. We also discuss any potential
changes in content with the authors, which
sometimes must be undertaken due to cultural
differences. The most important thing is to maintain
good contact with the partners and to find mutual
understanding and to value the respective artistic
standpoints.
Is there ever such a thing as a culture clash
during the international shows of the VBW?
Yes, that does happen from time to time. “The Visit”,
for example, has a different ending in Japan than at
home in Vienna. It would be unfathomable in Japan
for the female lead role, Claire Zachanassian, to walk
in a different direction than Alfred III’s funeral
cortege during the final scene. In Korea, some small
details are changed in the script, especially when it
comes to pieces like “Mozart!” or “Elisabeth”, as we
take knowledge of various historical aspects for
granted here, whereas they are much less known
there.
When selecting the shows, does the image of
Vienna delivered through the musicals – in other
words, touristic considerations – play a role?
When developing new musicals, we focus on finding
material that will appeal to the Austrian audience.
Only afterwards, we give thought to foreign
licensing. But when you consider that more than
23.5 million people globally have seen one of our
productions, then I do believe that this must have
had a positive impact on tourism in Vienna.
ELISABETH.
VBW Geschäftsführer Franz Patay und Musical-Intendant
Christian Struppeck mit dem Takarazuka Ensemble beim
20-jährigen Bühnenjubiläum von „Elisabeth“ in Japan.
Franz Patay, Managing Director of VBW, and Musical Director
Christian Struppeck are celebrating the 20th stage anniversary
of “Elisabeth“ in Japan.
Polanski, has been running very successfully in Saint
Petersburg since 2011. In October 2016, the musical,
based on Polanski’s cult film, finally arrived in
Moscow. Patay says, ”The Russian audience loves
”Dance of the Vampires“. I was there during the premiere
in Moscow and I was completely overwhelmed
by the audience’s reaction.“ With more than 8 million
visitors globally, the story about the not exactly
fearless vampire hunters is slowly starting to catch up
with ”Elisabeth“. A combined 23 million visitors have
seen VBW’s musicals in the last 20 years. Up to one
million musical enthusiasts watch VBW’s international
productions every year, 500,000 of those in Vienna
alone. And whilst the Viennese performances
enjoy yearly subsidies of around 21 Million euro,
VBW earns good money with every ticket sold for its
international guest performances.
Schikaneder on Broadway
”We are very lucky to have such a highly qualified
team at VBW, capable of working at a very high international
standard,“ Christian Struppeck, Musical
Director of the VBW, considers one of the main reasons
for the success. Which is why so many big names
from the musical world can’t keep their hands
off Vienna. Trevor Nunn, three-time Tony Award
winner, for example, directed the new production
”Schikaneder“ for an autumn release. The music was
musicalvienna.at
vbw-international.at
PHOTOS: PETER RIGAUD; VBW; TOHO LT.D.
composed by the three-time Oscar-winner Stephen
Schwartz. Negotiations are already underway for a
Broadway performance of the musical about the turbulent
creation story of the Magic Flute – rumour
has it, none other than Hollywood star Hugh Jackman
is set to play the lead role!
High-calibre new productions in the queue
Next to the September 2017 premiere of a musical
comprised of Austropop legend Rainhard Fendrich’s
greatest hits, ”The Third Man“ is another, very exciting
Vienna piece under production in VBW’s musical
forge. The world premiere is planned to take place
at Vienna’s Ronacher theatre in 2018. Here too, the
producers were able to get a high-calibre team on
board, with names including Oscar-winner Christopher
Hampton and composer George Fenton, responsible
for the ”Gandhi“ score. Nevertheless, how
exactly the Oscar-awarded visual language of the
black and white classic is to be translated onto the
musical stage remains a secret for now – but it is already
more than clear that the VBW’s international
success story will continue with ”The Third Man“.
Kammermusikalische Highlights wie das „Forellenquintett“,
die Arpeggione-Sonate oder „Der Hirt auf dem Felsen“,
aber auch seltener gehörte Klavierwerke von Schubert und Liszt.
Freitag, 5. Mai 2017, 20:00 Uhr
Gottlieb Wallisch I
Franz Schubert
Mit: Bernarda Bobro, Sopran / Matthias Schorn, Klarinette /
Rainer Honeck, Violine / Sebastian Bru, Violoncello /
Gottlieb Wallisch, Klavier
Samstag, 6. Mai 2017, 19:30 Uhr
Chorus Viennensis
Franz Schubert und das Volkslied
Chorus Viennensis / Leitung: Florian Maierl
Ramsch und Rosen (Volksmusik-Duo)
Sonntag, 7. Mai 2017, 11:00 Uhr
Gottlieb Wallisch II
Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt
Mit: Rainer Honeck, Violine / Innokenti Grabko, Viola /
Sebastian Bru, Violoncello / Christoph Wimmer, Kontrabass /
Gottlieb Wallisch, Klavier
„Schikaneder“
Neues Musical über die turbulente Liebesgeschichte
hinter der Zauberflöte. | New music about
the turbulent love story behind the Magic Flute
Raimund Theater, bis 21.6.2017
„Don Camillo und Peppone“
Die berühmte Geschichte um den streitbaren
katholischen Pfarrer und den kommunistischen
Bürgermeister erstmals als Musical, Österreichische
Erstaufführung. | The famous story about
the pugnacious catholic priest and the communist
mayor, for the first time as a musical, Austrian
premiere.
Ronacher, bis 25.6.2017
VBW-Musicals International 2017:
„I am from Austria“
Das Musical mit den Hits von Rainhard Fendrich.
The musical with Rainhard Fendrich’s greatest hits.
Raimund Theater, Weltpremiere 16.9.2017
„Tanz der Vampire“
Das VBW-Musical kehrt nach Wien zurück.
| The VBW musical returns to Vienna
Ronacher theatre.
Ronacher
ab 30.9.2017
„Tanz der Vampire“: Deutschland, Russland, Schweiz, Tschechische Republik, Ungarn | Germany,
Russia, Czech Republic
„Rebecca“: Korea, Deutschland, Tschechische Republik | Korea, Germany, Czech Republic
„Mozart!: Shanghai
„Rudolf: Korea
„Elisabeth“: Japan
Zyklus
Schubertiade
in the
Konzertsaal der Wiener Sängerknaben
Am Augartenspitz 1, 1020 Wien
Tickets unter Tel. +43 1 347 80 80,
www.muth.at oder an der Kassa
108 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

SAVOIR VIVRE VIENNA FESTIVAL
Bühne als Zukunftslabor
The stage as a future lab
Text: Rois & Stubenrauch
Die Wiener Festwochen 2017 versprechen
unter dem neuen Intendanten Tomas
Zierhofer-Kin spannende und kontroversielle
Theater- und Opernevents am Schnittpunkt
von Utopie, Gesellschaftsdiskurs und
neuen Formen der Bühnenkunst.
The Vienna Festival 2017 under newly
appointed director Tomas Zierhofer-Kin
promises exciting and controversial theatre
and opera events which intersect utopia,
social discourse and new forms
of stage art.
Wiener Festwochen
2017
Die traditionelle Eröffnungsfeier
am Wiener
Rathausplatz findet am
12.5. statt.
The traditional opening
ceremony will take place
on 12 May at the Viennese
Rathausplatz.
Wenn Parsifal auf dem Mond Richard Wagner,
Marlon Brando und Barbarella begegnet,
kann das nur heißen: Die Wiener
Festwochen, Wiens genreübergreifendes Kulturfestival,
beschert dem Kulturkalender der Hauptstadt wieder
einmal ungewohnte Begegnungen. Bei der mit
Spannung erwarteten Festwochenproduktion „Mondparsifal
Alpha 1–8 (Erzmutterz der Abwehrz)“ lässt
der exzentrische deutsche Künstler Jonathan Meese,
der für Bühnenbild, Ausstattung und Regie in Bernhard
Langs Oper nach Richard Wagner verantwortlich
zeichnet, die mythische Figurenwelt Wagners in
einer Mondbasis der Zukunft auf seinen persönlichen
HeldInnenkosmos treffen. Die mit dem Klangforum
Wien unter Stardirigentin Simone Young musikalisch
hochkarätig besetzte Produktion sorgt sicherlich für
einige Kontroversen, ist auch der neue Intendant der
Wiener Festwochen, Tomas Zierhofer-Kin, überzeugt:
„Wenn Jonathan Meese und sein kongenialer Partner,
der Komponist Bernhard Lang sich Richard Wagners
‚Parsifal‘ annehmen, treffen künstlerische Urgewalten
aufeinander: Meese und Lang dekonstruieren die Mythen
Wagner und Parsifal, laden sie neu auf und kreieren
so ein zeitgenössisches künstlerisches Kraftfeld,
das die Idee Oper in Inhalt und Form neu definiert.“
Eine neue Ära für das Traditionsfestival
Mit Tomas Zierhofer-Kin, der sich bereits als Leiter
des Donaufestivals mit unkonventionellem Programm
einen Namen gemacht hat, gehen die Wiener Festwochen
ab 2017 in eine spannende neue Ära, in der die
Türen des Festivals zu genreübergreifenden Formen
des Theaters, Performance und neuen Formaten weit
aufgestoßen werden – während die Klassikschiene in
Zukunft deutlich kürzer treten muss. Anfang der
1950er Jahre ins Leben gerufen als überlebenswichtiges
Fenster zu Europa und der Welt, das Wien nach
den dunklen Jahren des Nationalsozialismus wieder
mit dem internationalen Kulturleben vernetzte, zählen
die Wiener Festwochen seit mehr als sechzig Jahren
zu den wichtigsten Kulturevents Österreichs mit
internationaler Strahlkraft. An diese historischen
Stränge anknüpfend sollen die Wiener Festwochen, so
Neo-Intendant Zierhofer-Kin bei der Vorstellung des
Festwochenprogramms, Genres, Gedanken und Ideen
miteinander vernetzen und so zum Probierfeld einer
Gesellschaft der Zukunft werden.
Von Oper über Performance bis Hamam
Das dezidiert politische Theater-Verständnis des
PHOTOS: MIKE RANZ; LUKAS BECK
KLANGFORUM WIEN.
Spielt in Bernhard Langs Oper
„Mondparsifal Alpha 1-8“.
Playing “Mondparsifal Alpha
1-8“ in Bernhard Lang´s opera.
110 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
111

SAVOIR VIVRE VIENNA FESTIVAL
LES ROBOTS NE CONNAISSENT PAS LE
BLUES ODER DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS
DEM SERAIL.
Mozarts Oper trifft auf Performance.
When Mozart´s opera meets performance.
HAMAMNESS.
Performativ-intellektuelle
Massagen bei 45 °C.
Performative and intellectual
massages at 45°C.
Wiener Festwochen
12.5.-18.6.2017
Simone Young dirigiert
Bernhard Langs neue Oper.
Simone Young conducts
Bernhard Lang´s new opera.
ISHVARA.
Opern-Happening
von Tianzhuo Chen.
Opera-happening
by Tianzhuo Chen.
neuen Intendanten lässt dann in „Les Robots ne connaissent
pas le Blues oder die Entführung aus dem
Serail“ die Camerata Salzburg mit dem deutsch/ivorischen
Performance-Ensemble von Gintersdorfer/
Klaßen zusammenprallen oder im Opern-Happening
„Ishvara“ von Tianzhuo Chen, dem Enfant Terrible
der chinesischen Kunstszene, avantgardistische
Popkulturen und Religion aufeinander treffen. Weitere
Höhepunkte aus dem – durchaus streitbaren –
Festwochenprogramm sind etwa Peter Brooks neueste
Theaterarbeit „Battlefield“, die sich 30 Jahre nach
seiner legendären, neunstündigen Version des Sanskrit
Epos erneut mit dem Mahabharata auseinandersetzt
oder die breit gefächerte, von Bonaventure Soh
Bejeng Ndikung kuratierte Festwochenausstellung
„The Conundrum of Imagination“, die sich vom Leopold
Museum bis auf ein weitläufiges, ehemaliges
Fabriksgelände beim Wiener Hauptbahnhof erstreckt,
und das angestammte Festwochenterritorium
gehörig ausweitet. Die neue Spielstätte im 10.
Bezirk wird als „Performeum“ temporäre Bühne für
spannende Performances und interaktive Arbeiten
wie „Hamamness“, die das Publikum bei 45 °C und
hoher Luftfeuchtigkeit sowohl physischen als auch
intellektuellen Massagen aussetzt.
„Wir begreifen die Wiener Festwochen als ein groß
angelegtes geistiges wie sinnliches Experiment, das
herrschende Denk- und Handlungsmuster in Frage
stellt, aber auch Raum schafft für ekstatische Erfahrung
und Utopien produziert“, bringt Zierhofer-Kin
seine Vision auf den Punkt. Eines ist jedenfalls jetzt
schon klar: Die Wiener Festwochen 2017 bringen intensive
und kontroversielle fünf Wochen packendes
Theater-, Performance- und Opernerlebnis.
When Parsifal meets Richard Wagner, Marlon
Brando and Barbarella on the moon,
you can be sure that the Vienna Festival
has started. Vienna‘s genre-transcending festival once
again provides unusual encounters that greatly enrich
the capitals’ cultural calendar. The eccentric German
artist Jonathan Meese, who is responsible for the stage
design, equipment and direction in Bernhard
Lang‘s opera sets the mythical figures of Wagner on a
moonbase of the future. In this highly anticipated festival
production called ”Mondsparsifal Alpha 1-8
(Erzmutterz der Abwehrz)“, Meese’s personal Heroic
cosmos encounters Wagner’s iconic characters. The
Klangforum Vienna led by the famous conductor Simone
Young will ensure utmost excellency in the musical
department. Director Zierhofer-Kin is convinced
that this production will spike quite a
controversy. ”When Jonathan Meese and his congenial
partner and composer Bernhard Lang take on
Richard Wagner’s Parsifal, they create a contemporary
artistic field of force that redefines the idea of opera
in terms of content and form.“
A new era for the traditional festival
With Tomas Zierhofer-Kin, who has already
made a name for himself with an unconventional
programme as the director of the Donaufestival, the
Vienna Festival will enter an exciting new era in
2017. He will transcendent beyond traditional forms
of theatre, performances and new formats – while
the classical approach will take a back seat in the future.
Established in the early 1950s, the Vienna Festival
was one of Austria‘s most important cultural
event with international appeal for more than sixty
years. Critical to survival, it opened up a window to
Europe and the world, which re-connected Vienna
with international cultural life after the dark years of
National Socialism. According to director Zierhofer-
Kin, the Vienna Festival should connect genres,
thoughts and ideas to create testing grounds for a
society of the future.
From opera to performance to hammam
The new director’s decidedly political approach to
theatre provides for the Camerata Salzburg to clash
with the German/Ivorian performance ensemble of
Gintersdorfer/Klaßen in ”Les Robots ne connaissent
pas le Blues oder die Entführung aus dem Serail“ or
for the collision between avant-garde pop culture
and religion by means of the opera event ”Ishvara“ by
Tianzhuo Chen, the enfant terrible of the Chinese art
scene. Additional highlights from the – certainly
provocative – festival programme are, for example,
Peter Brook’s newest theatre work ”Battlefield“,
PHOTOS: KNUT KLASSEN; ZHANG YAN; ANJA BEUTLER; MARKUS MORIANZ; MONIKA RITTERSHAUS
which once again deals with the Mahabharata 30 years
after his legendary, nine-hour-long version of the
Sanskrit epic or the exhibition ”The Conundrum of
Imagination“, curated by Bonaventure Soh Bejeng
Ndikung which stretches from the Leopold Museum
to a large, former factory premise near Vienna‘s main
railway station thus massively expanding the usual
territory of the festival. The new venue in the 10th
district is called the ”Performeum“, a temporary stage
for exciting performances and interactive works
such as ”Hamamness“, which expose the audience to
physical as well as intellectual massages at 45° C and
high humidity.
”We see the Vienna Festival as a large-scale intellectual
and sensory experiment that questions the
dominant pattern of thought and action, but also
creates space for ecstatic experience and utopias,“
Zierhofer-Kin summed up his vision. One thing is
already clear: the Vienna Festival 2017 brings intensive
and controversial five weeks of exciting theatre,
performance and opera experience.
»… a place where
excellence meets passion . «
Tomas Zierhofer-
Kin ist neuer
Festwochen
Intendant.
Tomas Zierhofer-
Kin is the new
director of the
Vienna Festival.
Festwocheneröffnung
12.5.2017, Wiener Rathausplatz
Mondparsifal Alpha 1-8 (Erzmutterz der
Abwehrz)
Oper von Bernhard Lang nach Richard Wagner |
Opera by Bernhard Lang, based on R. Wagner
Regie: Jonathan Meese, Musikalische Leitung:
Simone Young, Klangforum Wien, Arnold
Schoenberg Chor
4., 6. & 8.6.2017, Theater an der Wien
Les Robots ne connaissent pas le Blues
oder die Entführung aus dem Serail
Musiktheater nach der Oper von W. A. Mozart |
Musical theatre based on the opera by W. A.
Mozart
26., 27. & 28.5.2017, MuseumsQuartier Halle E
Democracy in America
Theater, Italienisch mit deutschen Übertiteln |
Theater, Italian with surtitles
Regie: Romeo Castellucci
23., 24., 25. & 26.5.2017, Volkstheater
Battlefield
Theater, Englisch mit deutschen Übertiteln
Theater, English with German surtitles
Regie: Peter Brook, Marie-Hélène Estienne
16., 17., 18. & 19.6.2017, MuseumsQuartier
Performeum
18.-28.5.2017, 10., Laxenburgerstraße 2a
Vollständiges Programm | Programme:
festwochen.at
112 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
IB World School – Music and Arts Academy – Superior Boarding
Bastiengasse 36 – 38 | 1180 Wien | Austria | www.amadeus-vienna.com

SAVOIR VIVRE AMBASSADORS OF MUSIC
Culture Talk Patricia Kopatchinskaja
Ein Interview mit der moldawisch-österreichischen Stargeigerin über den normierten Kulturbetrieb, ihre musikalische
Zusammenarbeit mit Teodor Currentzis und ihre anstehenden Auftritte in Österreich.
An interview with the Moldavian-Austrian star violinist about the standardisation of culture, her musical collaboration with
Teodor Currentzis and her upcoming performances in Austria.
Interview: Rois & Stubenrauch
INFO
PERSONAL DETAILS
PHOTOS: JULIA WESELY; ERIC MELZER (2); CLAUDIA HÖHNE
Mit Ihrem unkonventionellen, sehr persönlichen Spiel
entlocken Sie auch bekannten Stücken neue, ungehörte
Klänge - was ist das Geheimnis Ihrer Spielweise?
Ich habe Komposition studiert. Ich weiß, dass vor dem
Niederschreiben der Noten eine Fantasie gestanden hat, eine
Ahnung, eine Sehnsucht, die in den Noten nur unvollkommen
niedergelegt ist, wie in einem Gefängnis. Das Spielen der Noten
allein genügt nie. Der Interpret muss das Gefängnis der Noten
sprengen und wieder die ursprünglichen Fantasien und
Sehnsüchte wachrufen.
Sie stammen aus einer Musikerfamilie, Ihre Eltern tourten
mit einem moldawischen Volksmusikensemble durch die
Sowjetunion. Hat Ihr direkter und manchmal kratzbürstiger
Stil seine Wurzeln auch in der Volksmusik?
Das sicher auch. Ich spiele aber am liebsten zeitgenössische
Musik. Dort werden alle Möglichkeiten der Klangerzeugung
durchexerziert, vom Kratzen bis zur Tonlosigkeit. Natürlich
versuche ich, solche Erfahrungen auch in die Interpretation des
klassischen Repertoires einzubringen.
Sie und Teodor Currentzis werden derzeit als „Dreamteam“
der Klassikwelt gefeiert. Welche musikalischen Überzeugungen
verbinden Sie mit dem exzentrischen Dirigenten?
Ich stoße mich ganz erheblich am Wort „exzentrisch“. Wir leben
in einer Zeit, wo alles international normiert wird. Kleiderläden
sehen von Wien bis Tokio identisch aus, das Beethoven-
Violinkonzert wird überwiegend gleich und in einer Tradition
gespielt, die nachweislich falsch ist. Das Kuriose ist, dass daran
niemand Anstoß nimmt. Und jetzt nimmt einer Mozarts Don
Giovanni in die Hand und fragt sich, was will dieser Notentext
musikalisch sagen? Was will er der heutigen Zeit sagen?
Und dann übt er mit seinem Ensemble besessen und wochenlang,
bis diese Aussage kristallklar zugespitzt ist, bis er keiner Phrase
mehr etwas schuldig bleibt. Ja, das ist ungewöhnlich in unserem
wattierten, normierten Kulturbetrieb. Aber exzentrisch? Nein und
nochmals nein! Alle sollten so arbeiten.
Currentzis bringt sein Orchester MusicaAeterna mit –
ist es eine besondere Herausforderung, mit einem so
ungewöhnlichen Klangkörper zu musizieren?
Currentzis arbeitet mit diesem Ensemble seit über zehn Jahren. Es
gibt keine Verständigungsprobleme – jeder weiß, wie es geht. Es
ist ein Traum, mit diesen Leuten zu spielen.
Ihr Repertoire umfasst die komplette Musikgeschichte,
gibt es Komponistinnen und Komponisten, die Sie ganz
besonders lieben?
Mein Herz schlägt zuerst für zeitgenössische, neu geschriebene
Musik. Hier möchte ich den jüngeren amerikanischen Komponisten
Michael Hersch nennen, der mir 2015 ein erschütterndes
Violinkonzert geschrieben hat, oder den jungen Spanier Francesco
Coll. Dann kommen die Klassiker der Moderne, Kurtag, Ligeti,
Galina Ustvolskaya.
Sie haben lange in Wien gelebt, an der Universität für
Musik und darstellende Kunst studiert. Hat ein Auftritt im
Wiener Konzerthaus eine spezielle Bedeutung für Sie?
Ja natürlich. Im Konzerthaus erhielt ich meine ersten Chancen.
Hier feierte ich meine ersten Erfolge. Und das Konzerthaus ist mir
bis heute treu geblieben – und ich ihm.
With your unconventional and very personal style, you manage to
produce entirely new impressions even with well-known pieces
– what is the secret to your approach to music?
I have studied composition. I know that there was an idea prior to
writing down the notes, an intuition, a desire, which has partly
been captured in the notes, like in a prison. Playing the right notes
itself is not enough. The interpreter must break open the prison of
the notes and reawaken the original ideas, intuitions and desires
embedded in it.
You come from a family of musicians, your parents toured through
the Soviet Union with the Moldavian folk music ensemble. Does
your direct and sometimes prickly style have its roots in folk
music as well?
Certainly. But I prefer to play contemporary music. There, all the
ways in which music can be generated are explored, from
scratching to soundlessness. Of course, I try to bring such
experiences into my interpretation of classical pieces as well.
You and Teodor Currentzis are currently celebrated as the dream
team of the world of classical music. What musical convictions
connect you with the eccentric conductor?
I really take offence at the word “eccentric”. We live in a world
where everything is being internationally standardised. Clothing
shops look the same from Vienna to Tokyo, the Beethoven violin
concerto sounds the same everywhere and is played in a tradition
which has been proven to be wrong. The curious thing is that
nobody takes offence in that. And now, somebody takes up
Mozart’s Don Giovanni and wonders, what is this set of notes
trying to convey musically? What does it want to convey to
today’s world? And then he passionately practices with his
ensemble for many weeks, until its statement has been
crystallised to perfection and every phrase has been elaborated
upon. Yes, that is unusual in our padded, standardised way of
producing culture. But eccentric? No, and for the last time, no!
Everyone should work this way.
Currentzis is bringing his orchestra MusicaAeterna along – is it a
particular challenge to work with such an unusual orchestra?
Currentzis has been working with this ensemble for more than ten
years. There are no issues concerning communication – everyone
knows how it all works. It’s a dream to be playing with these
people.
Your body of work includes the entire history of music, from the
renaissance to pieces of contemporary music specifically
composed for you, as well as your own compositions. Are there
any works or composers that you love especially?
My heart beats primarily for contemporary, newly written music.
Here, I would like to mention the young American composer
Michael Hersch, who wrote a staggering violin concerto for me in
2015, or the young Spaniard Francesco Coll. And then there are
the modernist classics, such as Kurtag, Ligeti, Galina Ustvolskaya.
You have lived in Vienna for ten years and studied at the
University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna.
Does a show at the Konzerthaus Vienna have a special
significance for you?
Yes, of course. I got my first chances at the Konzerthaus. I also
celebrated my first successes here. And the Konzerthaus has
remained loyal to me to this day – and I to it.
Patricia Kopatchinskaja mit/
with Teodor Currentzis und/
and MusicAeterna
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Konzert für Violine und
Orchester KV 218/ Concerto for
Violin and Orchestra KV 218
11.3.2017, Wiener Konzerthaus
konzerthaus.at
Alban Berg Violinkonzert
„Dem Andenken eines Engels“/
Alban Berg violin concerto ”To
the Memory of an Angel“
10.8.2017, Salzburger Festspiele
salzburgerfestspiele.at
Die Ausnahme-Violinistin im Spiel mit
Teodor Currentzis und MusicAeterna.
The exceptional violinist, music-making
with Teodor Currentzis and MusicAeterna.
Mit ihrer temperamentvollen und energetischen Spielweise zählt Patricia
Kopatchinskaja zu den gefragtesten Geigenvirtuosinnen der Gegenwart und ist
bereits mit fast allen führenden Symphonieorchestern Europas aufgetreten. Die aus
einer moldawischen Musikerfamilie stammende Violinistin studierte an der
Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien und am Konservatorium in Bern,
wo sie seit 1998 lebt. Langfristige musikalische Zusammenarbeiten verbinden Patricia
Kopatchinskaja u.a. mit dem Dirigenten Teodor Currentzis, dem Komponisten und
Dirigenten Péter Eötvös oder der Cellistin Sol Gabetta.
114 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
With her temperamental and energetic style, Patricia Kopatchinskaja is considered
among the most popular contemporary violinists and has already performed with
nearly all leading symphony orchestras in Europe. The young violinist from a
Moldavian family of musicians studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts,
Vienna as well as the Konservatorium music school in Bern, where she’s lived since
1998. Long-term musical collaborations connect Patricia Kopatchinskaja with, among
others, conductor Teodor Currentzis, the composer and conductor Péter Eötvös and
the cellist Sol Gabetta.
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
115

SAVOIR VIVRE MUSEUM VISIT
Von Dampflok zu Hightech
From steam engines to high-tech
Technisches Museum Wien | Vienna Technical Museum
Text & Interview: Rois & Stubenrauch
DIRECTOR’S TALK
INFO
Sonderausstellung
„Die Zukunft der Stadt“.
Temporary exhibition
“The future of the city“.
Das TMW ist eines der
ersten repräsentativen
Stahlbetongebäude
Österreichs.
The TMW is one of the first
representative reinforced
concrete buildings in Austria.
Mit seiner einzigartigen, bereits zu k. u. k.
Zeiten begründeten und über 160.000
Objekte umfassenden Sammlung zählt
das 1918 eröffnete Technische Museum Wien mit
seinen charakteristischen, überkuppelten Ausstellungshallen
zu den führenden Technik-Museen
weltweit. In verschiedenen Themenblöcken spannt
sich auf rund 28.000 m² der Bogen von historischen
Eisenbahnen über die Geschichte der Schwerindustrie
und Luftfahrt bis zur Medienwelt. Weitere Highlights
sind das interaktive Hochspannungslabor oder
das älteste Schaubergwerk Europas unterhalb des
Gebäudes. In Kooperationen mit den Universitäten
beleuchtet das Technische Museum zudem in wechselnden
Ausstellungen Fragestellungen aktueller und
zukünftiger technischer Entwicklungen.
The Vienna Technical Museum founded in
1918 is renowned for the characteristic domed
exhibition halls accommodating its
unique collection of over 160,000 objects. It is well
established amongst the world‘s leading museums of
technology. 28,000 m² are divided into various themed
areas from historic railways to heavy industry
and aviation going all the way to modern media.
Other highlights include the interactive high-voltage
laboratory or the oldest showcase mine in Europe
directly below the building. In collaboration with
universities, the Vienna Technical Museum also examines
various questions surrounding current and
future technical developments in alternating exhibitions.
PHOTOS: APA FOTOSERVICE PREISS, INGE PRADER, TMW
Gabriele Zuna-Kratky
Wie positioniert sich das Technische Museum im Spannungsfeld
zwischen Archivierung und dem Blick auf technische
Entwicklungen der Zukunft?
Wir hüten mit Bedacht unsere historische Sammlung, legen jedoch
Wert auf die aktuelle Präsentation und Vermittlung nach neuesten
Standards. Mit dem dreiteiligen Ausstellungsprojekt „weiter_gedacht“
positioniert sich das TMW auch international als zukunftsorientiertes
und interaktives Haus der Technik.
„Die Zukunft der Stadt“, die aktuelle Ausstellung,
beschäftigt sich mit Themen wie Mobilität und Energieversorgung
in den Städten der Zukunft. Welche Rolle spielt
dabei die Technik?
Die Stadt ist unbestritten der Lebensraum der Zukunft. Auf nur zwei
Prozent der Weltoberfläche beherbergen die Städte rund die Hälfte der
Weltbevölkerung – deshalb sind Städte der stärkste Antrieb für
Forschung, Innovation und Technologieentwicklung.
Das Technische Museum unterhält Kooperationen mit
mehreren Universitäten. Welche Vorteile ergeben sich
daraus?
Kooperationen mit wissenschaftlichen Institutionen sind unerlässlich
für ein Museum, da sie Wissenstransfer ermöglichen und den
MuseumsbesucherInnen stets die neuesten Forschungsergebnisse und
Entwicklungen präsentiert werden können. Diese Zusammenarbeit
Direktorin Technisches Museum Wien | Vienna Technical Museum Director
Nach ihrem Studium der Soziologie und Erziehungswissenschaft an der Universität Wien und ihrem Doktorat (Schwerpunkt Museumspädagogik)
leitete Gabriele Zuna-Kratky das Medienservice im Bildungsministerium und war Direktorin der Österreichischen Phonothek. Seit
2000 ist Gabriele Zuna-Kratky Direktorin des Technischen Museums Wien, daneben ist sie Mitglied verschiedener wissenschaftlicher
Beiräte und Vizepräsidentin der Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft.
After completing her studies in sociology and education and a doctorate (museum education at the University of Vienna), Gabriele Zuna-Kratky directed
the media service at the Ministry of Education and was director of the Austrian record library Phonothek. Since 2000, she has been director of the
Vienna Technical Museum and is a member of various scientific advisory boards and vice president of the Ludwig Boltzmann Society.
zeigt sich z. B. in der Versuchsstation „vertical farming“ (Lebensmittelproduktion
in vertikalen Gewächshäusern) in der aktuellen Ausstellung,
die von der TU Graz und der BOKU Wien betreut wird.
Sie sind seit dem Jahr 2000 Direktorin des Technischen
Museums. Hat sich die gesellschaftliche Wahrnehmung des
Themenkomplexes Technik in dieser Zeitspanne verändert?
Technik ist „weiblicher“ geworden. Die gesellschaftliche Sicht der
Technik unterliegt ja der steten Wandlung – von Euphorie bis strikte
Ablehnung. Heute gehen immer mehr Frauen einen technisch-naturwissenschaftlichen
Bildungsweg und ergreifen Berufe, die früher eher
männlich konnotiert waren.
How does the Technical Museum position itself between
archiving and creating views on future technological
developments?
We carefully look after our historical collection, but also attach great
importance to the current presentation and mediation according to the
latest standards. With the three-part exhibition project „weiter_gedacht“
(thinking forward), the Vienna Technical Museum is also
positioning itself internationally as a future-oriented and interactive
institution.
„The urban future“, the current exhibition, deals with topics
such as mobility and energy supply in the cities of the future.
What part does technology play?
The city is indisputably the living space of the future. On only two
percent of earth’s surface, the cities are home to around half of the
world’s population. This is why cities are the strongest driver for
research, innovation and technological development.
The Technical Museum cooperates with several universities.
What are the resulting advantages?
Cooperations with scientific institutions are indispensable for a
museum as they enable great knowledge exchange. Visitors can
always be presented with the latest research and developments.
A witness to this cooperation is for example the „vertical farming“ test
center (food production in vertical greenhouses) in the current
exhibition, which is supervised by the University of Technology Graz
and BOKU Vienna.
You have been director of the Technical Museum since 2000.
Has the social perception on the topic of complex technology
changed during this time?
Technology has become more „feminine“. The social view on
technology is subject to constant change – from euphoria to strict
rejection. Today, more and more women choose a technical or scientific
path of education and take on professions that were formerly more
masculine.
Aktuelle
Sonderausstellung
Current exhibition
Die Zukunft der Stadt
weiter_gedacht
09.06.2016 - Juni 2018
The urban future
“thinking_forward”
09.06.2016 – June 2018
Hochspannungsvorführung
Beeindruckende Show rund um
die faszinierende Welt der
Elektrizität.
Täglich 11:30 und 14:30.
High voltage demonstration
Impressive show about the
fascinating world of electricity.
Daily at 11:30 and 14:30.
Online Sammlung
Das TMW macht als erstes
Bundesmuseum seine
kompletten Bestände über eine
Online Datenbank der Öffentlichkeit
zugänglich. Seit Jänner 2016
sind 160.000 Datensätze über
die TMW-Homepage abrufbar.
Online collection
As the first federal museum, the
Technical Museum makes its
complete collections accessible
to the public via an online
database. Since January 2016,
160,000 records are available
via the Technical Museum
Vienna website.
Österreichische Mediathek
Das nationale Ton- und
Videoarchiv mit über 1,5
Millionen Einträgen ist seit 2001
im TMW beheimatet.
Austrian Media Library
The national sound and video
archive with more than 1.5
million entries has been located
at the museum since 2001.
mediathek.at
INFO:
TECHNISCHES MUSEUM WIEN
Mariahilfer Str. 212
1140 Wien
technischesmuseum.at
„In Bewegung“ (li.)
Ausstellungsbereich „urban energy“
(re.)
“In motion“ (left)
Exhibition area “urban energy“ (r.)
Dampflok 1.20 (li.)
Pferdeeisenbahn „Hannibal“ (re.)
Steam locomotive 1.20 (left)
Horse railway “Hannibal“ (r.)
116 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
117

SAVOIR VIVRE ARTS
Kultur-Highlights Frühjahr 2017
Cultural highlights spring 2017
Text: Evelyn Rois
Antik Monumental Modern | Ancient, monumental, modern
Osterklang und Höllentanz | OsterKlang Festival and Hell Dance
Tanz in seinen vielfältigsten Facetten steht im Zentrum des OsterKlang Festivals vom
3.4.-16.4.2017 im Theater an der Wien, dem Wiener Konzerthaus und der Hofburgkapelle.
Der musikalisch-tänzerische Bogen spannt sich dabei vom Norwegischen Nationalballett mit
den Ballettaufführungen „Ghosts“ und „Carmen“ über das ganz im Zeichen des „Ballet Russe“
stehende Konzert des Staatlichen Sinfonieorchester Russlands, bis zum kabarettistischen Tanz
und Swing Intermezzo „Höllentanz“ von Georg Wacks.
Dance in all its diverse incarnations are at the centre of the OsterKlang Festival from 03.04. to
16.04.2017 at the Theater an der Wien, the Konzerthaus Vienna and the Hofburg Chapel. The
music and dance event spans the Norwegian National Ballet with the ballet performances
”Ghosts“ and ”Carmen“ to the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation
marked by the ”Ballet Russia“ as well as the cabaret dance and swing intermezzo ”Höllentanz“
(Hell Dance) by Georg Wacks.
osterklang.at
„Ghosts“
nach Ibsens Drama,
Norwegisches Nationalballett.
adapted from Ibsens´s drama,
Norwegian National Ballet
PHOTOS: ERIK BERG; SANJIRO MINAMIKAWA; JULIA FRANK-AVRAMIDIS / LEMPERTZ; MUTH; BELVEDERE WIEN; PRIVATBESITZ; ARENARIA
Tenor Cosimo Panozzo.
Notte Italiana
Die Wiener Sängerknaben, der
italienische Tenor und Pavarotti
Schüler Cosimo Panozzo und der
aus Venedig stammende Dirigent
Manolo Cagnin begeben sich, am
31.3.2017 im Wiener Konzertsaal
Muth, einen Abend lang, auf eine
wunderbare musikalische Reise:
Von Norditalien bis Neapel – von
Vivaldi bis Cherubini – von der
Motette bis zur Oper. Bella Italia!
The Vienna Boys’ Choir, the Italian
tenor and student of Pavarotti
Cosimo Panozzo, as well as the
Venetian conductor Manolo Cagnin
are set to embark upon a wonderful
musical journey on the evening of
31.03.2017 at the Vienna concert
hall MuTh: from northern Italy to
Naples – from Vivaldi to Cherubini
– from the motet to the opera. Bella
Italia!
muth.at
Joannis Avramidis, Großer
Kopf, um 1970.
Big Head, around 1970.
Tina Blau, Frühling im
Prater, 1882.
Spring at the Prater, 1882.
Es ist die bisher größte, retrospektiv angelegte Ausstellung des griechisch-österreichischen
Bildhauers Joannis Avramidis: Ein Jahr nach dessen Tod zeigt das Leopold Museum Wien vom
19.5.-4.9.2017 das umfangreiche Oeuvre des Künstlers: Organisch, monumentale Skulpturen, in die
Höhe strebende Figuren und Figurengruppen, geprägt von einem höchst eigenständigen Stil.
To date, it is the largest retrospectively laid out exhibition of the Greek-Austrian sculptor Joannis
Avramidis: a year after his death, the Leopold Museum Vienna will present the artist’s extensive body
of work between 19.05. and 04.09.2017: organic, monumental sculptures, figures and groups of
figures reaching up high, marked by an extremely individual style.
leopoldmuseum.org
Frühlingsimpressionen | Spring impressions
Tina Blau, Belvedere, 1895.
Noch bis 9.4.2017 gibt es die Chance, einen umfassenden Einblick in das großartige
Werk von Tina Blau zu gewinnen. Die 1845 in Wien geborene Malerin war maßgeblich
an der Entwicklung des „österreichischen Stimmungsimpressionismus“ beteiligt und
Mitbegründerin der Kunstschule für Frauen und Mädchen (die akademische
Kunstausbildung stand Frauen in Wien erst ab 1920 offen). Im Rahmen der Reihe
„Meisterwerke im Fokus“ zeigt das Belvedere zahlreiche Hauptwerke aus allen
Schaffensphasen der Malerin.
You still have the chance to gain a broad inside-look into the fantastic works of Tina
Blau until 09.04.2017. The painter, born in 1845 in Vienna, played a significant part in
the development of Austrian Impressionism and cofounded the Art School for
Women and Girls in Vienna (women were only permitted to engage in academic art
training starting in 1920). As part of the series ”Masterpieces in Focus”, the
Belvedere will display countless of key works from the painter’s various creative
periods.
belvedere.at
Oper im Steinbruch
Opera in a stone quarry
Die grandiose Freiluftbühne inmitten
der schroffen Felsenlandschaft des
Steinbruchs von St. Margarethen im
Burgenland ist auch diesen Sommer
wieder Schauplatz für Intrigen,
Dramen und Arien: Verdis berühmte
Oper „Rigoletto“ sorgt vom
12.7.-19.8.2017 für opulentes
Musikvergnügen, während in der
Opernlounge musikalische und
kulinarische Genusse zusammenfinden.
Karten sind bereits erhältlich.
The grandiose open-air stage amid
the rugged rock landscape of St.
Margarethen’s quarry in Burgenland
is, once again, the perfect setting
for schemes, dramas and arias this
summer: Verdi’s famed opera
Rigoletto will provide opulent musical
enjoyment from 12.07. to
19.08.2017, whereas both musical
and culinary pleasures will flow
together in the opera’s lounge.
Tickets are already available.
arenaria.at
Rigoletto.
118 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 119

SAVOIR VIVRE ARTS
Globalisierung und Weltmeere
Globalisation and the oceans
Untitled.
Untitled.
Marie Spaemann
& Christian
Bakanic.
Feten Feten.
Die Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary – TBA21 – Ausstellungshalle
im Augarten Wien (mit hübscher Sonnenterrasse und dem netten „Au
Café“) widmet sich der künstlerischen Auseinandersetzung Allan Sekulas
mit dem Thema Weltmeere. Die Schau „OKEANOS“ zeigt vom
21.02.-14.05.2017 die großen fotografischen Reihen und filmischen
Arbeiten des amerikanischen Künstlers und Weltenbummlers (1951–2013),
die sich mit der zentralen Funktion der Ozeane in den globalisierten
industriellen Systemen und deren fragilen Ökosystemen beschäftigen.
The Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary – TBA21 – exhibition hall in
the Augarten Vienna (with a gorgeous sun terrace and the neat ”Au
Café”) is dedicated to Allan Sekula’s artistic engagement with the
theme oceans. The exhibition ”OKEANOS” will display the American
artist and cosmopolitan’s grand photographic series and cinematic
works between 21.02 and 12.05.2017, which deal with the central
function performed by the oceans as part of the globalised industrial
system as well as their fragile ecosystems. tba21.org
ARNULF RAINER
PINSELRAUSCH noch bis 30.4.2017
Frisch gemischt und neu gemalt
Täglich von 10 bis 17 Uhr
KUNST UND SPIEL
After Work im Arnulf Rainer Museum &
Chill-Out im Casino Baden
Jeden Mittwoch um 18 Uhr
KUNST UND GENUSS
Exklusive Führung &
Abendessen im El Gaucho Steakhouse
Jeden Donnerstag um 19 Uhr
Im ehemaligen Frauenbad
Josefsplatz 5, 2500 Baden
www.arnulf-rainer-museum.at
Allan Sekula, Middle
Passage, chapter 3,
Fish Story, 1994.
Architektur Tour
Rundgang durch die Geschichte
des historischen Badehauses
Jeden ersten Freitag im Monat um 15 Uhr
Marie Spaemann
und Christian
Bakanic.
BADENER MUSEENTOUR inkl. Lunch
Arnulf Rainer Museum, Beethovenhaus und Kaiserhaus
Jeden ersten Sonntag um 10 Uhr
Blick auf die Welt
A glance at the world
Die Liebhaberin. /
The lover.
Vom 28.3.-2.4.2017 ist Graz ein Muss für Cineasten: Die Diagonale zeigt die jüngsten Höhepunkte des
österreichischen Filmschaffens, darunter viele Premieren, etwa „Die Liebhaberin“ des österreichisch/
argentinischen Regisseurs Lukas Valenta Rinner, „Untitled“, das von Monika Willi zu einem Reisefilm
verdichtete filmische Vermächtnis Michael Glawoggers, oder das Porträt dreier Garderobiers an der Wiener
Staatsoper, der Mailänder Scala und der Oper von Odessa von Pavel Cuzuioc „Secondo Me“.
Between 28.03. and 02.04.2017, Graz becomes an absolute must for cineasts: the Diagonale film festival
presents the most recent achievements of Austrian cinema, among them several premieres such as ”A
Decent Woman“ by Austrian/Argentinian director Lukas Valenta Rinner, ”Untitled“, Monika Willi’s travel
documentary composed of the cinematic legacy left behind by Michael Glawoggers, or the portrait of three
cloakroom attendants at the Vienna State Opera, Milan’s La Scala and the Odessa Opera, directed by Pavel
Cuzuioc and titled ”Secondo Me“. diagonale.at
Todo Acordeón!
Auf einen Schwerpunkt mit spanischer Akkordeonmusik darf
man sich am Internationalen Akkordeon Festival Wien vom
25.2.-26.3. 2017 freuen: „La Bandada Mancini“, „Els 3 Peus Del
Gat“, „Ander Tellelria“, „Feten Feten“ oder das „Barcelona
Gipsy balKan Orchestra“ werden unter dem Motto „Viva
España“ auf Spanisch quetschen und fiedeln. Dazwischen
gibt es Bewährtes aus dem Festival-Repertoire, wie die
„Stummfilm Matinee“, bei der Filmklassiker mit entsprechend
musikalisch fideler Live-Vertonung über die Leinwand
flimmern.
Visitors to the International Accordion Festival Vienna have
plenty to look forward to between 25.02. and 26.03.2017,
including a focus on Spanish accordion music: ”La Bandada
Mancini“, ”Els 3 Peus Del Gat“, ”Ander Tellelria“, ”Feten
Feten“ or the ”Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra“ will
perform their Spanish tunes under the motto ”Viva España“.
In between, audiences will get to see and hear established
festival regulars such as the ”Silent Film Matinee“, where
classic films are presented with live music.
akkordeonfestival.at
PHOTOS: FILMLADEN LOTUS FILM; NABIS FILMGROUP; ANDREJ GRILC; FETEN FETEN
PHOTOS: THE ESTATE OF ALLAN SEKULA; CARLA BARBERO, COURTESY OF ADRIÁN VILLAR ROJAS UND RUTH BENZACAR GALERÍA
DE ARTE, BUENOS AIRES
Gigantisch! | Gigantic!
Zum 20-Jahr-Jubiläum des Kunsthaus Bregenz entwickelt Shootingstar
Adrián Villar Rojas eigens für das KUB vor Ort eine seiner monumentalen
Arbeiten. Die sämtliche Maßstäbe sprengenden Betonskulpturen des
argentinischen Künstlers sind spätestens seit der Documenta 13 in aller
Munde. „The Theater of Disappearance“ erzählt von der Geburt der
Menschheit bis hin zu ihrer Apotheose und verwandelt das KUB in eine
gigantische, apokalyptische Höhle. Spannend! 6.5.-27.8.2017.
For the 20-year anniversary of the Kunsthaus Bregenz, shooting star
Adrián Villar Rojas is exclusively developing one of his monumental
works on-site for the KUB. Word around the Argentinian artist’s
concrete sculptures, that routinely collapse established conventions,
have been spreading like wildfire ever since the Documenta 13. ”The
Theater of Disappearance“ tells the story of the birth of mankind, all the
way to its apotheosis, transforming the KUB into a gigantic, apocalyptic
cave. Exciting! 06.05.-27.08.2017.
kunsthaus-bregenz.at
Adrián Villar Rojas.
Mi familia muerta
(My Dead Family),
2009.
Hieronymus Bosch | Titian
Rembrandt | Rubens | Van Dyck
The Paintings Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna
1., Schillerplatz 3 | Tue – Sun 10 am – 6 pm | www.akademiegalerie.at
Attention! New address in autumn 2017
120 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
1702-GGCercle Diplomatique-Bosch-95x125,5-drucken.indd 1 16.02.17 16:59

SAVOIR VIVRE PROPERTY
Wohnkultur in vielerlei Hinsicht
Residential culture in all its facets
Luxuswohnungen mit Ausblick sind begehrt. Die Fülle an Kunst- und
Kulturstätten in der nächsten Umgebung machen Wiener Innenstadt-
Immobilien zusätzlich zu besonders begehrten Objekten.
Luxury apartments with a view are in high demand. The multitude of
local art and cultural institutions make Vienna’s city centre properties
among the most sought-after in the world.
Text: Michaela Hocek
AM KAISERFORUM.
Nibelungengasse 15 ist die Adresse
des exklusiven Wohnprojekts der
Real-Estate.
Nibelungengasse 15 is the address of
Real-Estate’s exclusive residential
project.
GOETHEGASSE 1.
Beim Projekt von Otto Immobilien sind Kunst, Kultur,
Kulinarik und Shopping nur wenige Minuten entfernt.
Art, culture, cuisine and shopping are only a few
minutes away from Otto Immobilien’s project.
PHOTOS: STEPHAN HUGER, OTTO IMMOBILIEN/MARTIN WOSCHITZ
Wien hat nicht nur als Weltstadt, sondern
auch als Wohnstadt ein Ass im Ärmel, das
liebend gerne gezogen wird: die Atmosphäre
aus Weltoffenheit und Flair. Die eindrucksvollen
Zeugnisse der Wiener Architektur sind ebenso
Fixpunkt wie kulturelle Veranstaltungen in renommierten
Theatern, Opernhäusern und Museen mit
Weltruf. Und so verschmelzen all diese charakterstarken
Statements der Innenstadt zu einer exklusiven
Melange. Cercle Diplomatique hat einige beeindruckende
Projekte lokalisiert, um auch von innen zu
zeigen, was den Charme dieser Ikonen ausmacht.
Am Kaiserforum
Ästhetik und Individualität definieren die Domizile
an der geschichtsträchtigen Adresse Nibelungengasse
15/Babenbergerstraße 7. Wo zur Jahrhundertwende
die Aristokratie residierte, wird heute der
Bezug zur Kunst im Entree spürbar, wo zeitgenössische
Werke des Wiener Künstler-Ehepaars Ernst
und Eleonor Friedrich in Kooperation mit Andrew
Stewart, einem Künstler aus London, installiert sind.
Goethegasse
Unter dem Motto „Imperiales Wohnen“ ist diese
Immobilie als Sinnbild für exklusive Gemütlichkeit
im Umfeld des UNESCO-Weltkulturerbes (ja, diesen
Status trägt das gesamte historische Stadtzentrum
Wiens) zu verstehen. Nahe an Albertina, Staatsoper
und Hofburg beeindrucken die Penthäuser mit hohen
Räumen, 360° Rundumblick, begrünter Dachlandschaft
und Outdoor-Spa. Für die Innenausstattung
zeichnen Profis wie Ateliers Christian L.
Einwaller und Interior Moments – Isabelle Farrokhnia
verantwortlich.
Bösendorferstrasse
Das gewisse Etwas ist auch hier zu spüren. Das
Penthouse mit fast 300 Quadratmetern hat nicht nur
herrschaftliche Innenräume, sondern auch eine Terrasse
mit windgeschützter Panoramaverglasung zu
bieten. Abseits der mediterranen Klimazone kein
schlechter architektonischer Kniff, um die imposan-
122 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
te Aussicht in Richtung Ringstraße und Karlsplatz
möglichst ganzjährig genießen zu können. In unmittelbarer
Nachbarschaft zu Musikverein, Staatsoper
und Albertina bleibt auch hier das herrschaftliche
Wohnen im Kontext zu Kunst und Kultur erhalten.
Schillerplatz
1870 war das Jahr, in dem die Geschichte dieses
Gebäudes ihren Lauf nahm. Die Planung des früheren
„Hotel Britannia“ wurde von Carl Tietz anlässlich
der regen Bautätigkeit rund um die nahende
Weltausstellung in Angriff genommen. Einigen ist es
sicher noch als Fernmeldeamt in Erinnerung. Vor
nicht allzu langer Zeit inszenierte Paulus Manker
noch sein epochales Werk „Alma“ über vier Etagen
in diesem Haus. Heute finden sich hier erstklassige
Wohnungen, die im Zusammenspiel aus Alt und
Neu mit kreativer Architektur und fortschrittlicher
Technik genügend Weite für einmaliges Lebensgefühl
einräumen.
Zum Abschluss unseres Stadtrundgangs überlassen
wir Johanna Seeber, Vorstand der Seeste Bau AG,
als Expertin für Luxusimmobilien das Schlusswort,
die im Interview den Blick aufs Wesentliche schärfte:
„Moderne Wohnansprüche gehen mit der Verschmelzung
von Tradition und innovativen Technologien
einher. Vor allem exklusive Innenstadt-Lagen
in historisch interessanten Gebäuden mit hohen
Räumen, aber auch die Kombination aus Klassik und
Moderne zählen. Großzügige und repräsentative
Eingangsbereiche, hochwertige Ausstattung und innovative
Hightech-Features wie Bussysteme für Unterhaltung,
Beleuchtung und Alarmanlagen sowie
kontrollierte Wohnraumlüftungssysteme mit Klimadecken,
die auch aus der Ferne durch Smartphones
und Tablets steuerbar sind, werden heute bei Top-
Immobilien erwartet.“
„Die Goethegasse ist für Kunst- und
Kulturliebhaber die ideale Adresse:
Oper, Albertina, Musikverein, Burgtheater
und die wichtigsten Museen
sind nur wenige Schritte entfernt. Das
Gebäude selbst strahlt mit Ballettschule
und Kostümwerkstatt der Wiener
Staatsoper künstlerisches Flair aus“.
“The Goethegasse is the ideal address for
any art and culture lover: the Vienna State
Opera, the Albertina museum, the Musikverein,
the Burgtheater as well as the city’s remaining
important museums are only a few
steps away. The building
itself radiates artistic
flair as it includes a
ballet school and the
costume workshop
of the Vienna
State Opera.”
Michaela Orisich
Maklerin
Otto Immobilien
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 123

SAVOIR VIVRE PROPERTY
INSIDER’S TALK
Luxussegment mit Mehrwert
Luxury segment with added value
Johanna Seeber, Vorstand der Seeste Bau AG | Chair of the Seeste Bau AG
Wie weit beeinflusst der Kunst- und
Kulturstatus von Wien Kaufentscheidungen
von Immobilieninteressenten?
Bei internationalen Kunden spielt in manchen Fällen
der herausragende Kunst- und Kulturstatus Wiens
eine große Rolle und somit auch die Lage – und
zwar die fußläufige Nähe – zu den Kunst- und
Kulturstätten im ersten Wiener Gemeindebezirk.
Wen spricht das Projekt Schillerplatz 4
konkret an?
Das Klientel des Schillerplatz 4 interessiert sich für
das exklusive Luxussegment und sucht Immobilien
in hervorragenden Lagen mit außerordentlicher
Architektur und hochwertiger Ausstattung. Auch
der atemberaubende Blick über die Dächer Wiens
der hellen Penthäuser gehört zu den Kaufgründen
unserer exklusiven Interessenten aller Altersgruppen,
sowohl national als auch international.
Wie wichtig sind renommierte Interior-
Designer?
Für Kunden in diesem Luxussegement ist
hochwertiges und exklusives Design sehr wichtig.
Oft lassen sich unsere Kunden die Wohnungen von
namhaften Innenarchitekten und Interior-Designern
komplett einzugsbereit bis in das kleinste Detail,
wie Besteck und Handtücher, einrichten.
How much does the status of Vienna as an art
and culture city influence the property
purchasing decisions of interested customers?
When it comes to international customers, the
status of Vienna as an art and cultural city can play
a big role and thereby also the location – meaning
reachability by foot – in regard to the art and
cultural institutions within the first city district of
Vienna.
What clientele does the project Schillerplatz 4
specifically address?
The clientele of Schillerplatz 4 is particularly
interested in the exclusive luxury segment and is
looking for properties in outstanding locations with
exceptional architecture and high-quality
furnishings and equipment. The breathtaking view
over the roofs of Vienna‘s bright penthouses is one
of the reasons to purchase one of our exclusive
properties by our national and international clients
of all age groups.
How important are renowned interior designers
such as Steinwender?
For customers interested in this luxury segment,
high-quality and exclusive design is very important.
Many times, our customers like to have their
apartments completely furnished by well-known
interior architects and interior designers, all the way
to the very last detail such as the cutlery and the
towels.
Vienna does not only enjoy a reputation as a
metropolis, but also as a residential city,
where people like to flock from all around
the globe due to its historic atmosphere, openness
and flair. The impressive testimonials of Viennese architecture
are as much a focal point as the cultural
events in the renowned theatres, opera houses and
museums with a world reputation. And thus, all these
elements of the city centre merge into one exclusive
blend. Cercle Diplomatique has put together a list
of impressive projects to provide an inside look at
what constitutes the charm of these iconic places.
Am Kaiserforum
Aesthetics and individuality define the domiciles
at the historical address of Nibelungengasse 15/Babenbergerstraße
7. Whereas the aristocracy still resided
here at the turn of the century, today’s ambience
is marked by a relationship to the arts, where contemporary
works by the Viennese artist couple Ernst
and Eleonor Friedrich in collaboration with Andrew
Stewart, an artist from London, are exhibited.
Goethegasse
As per the motto ”Imperial Living“, this property
is to be understood as a symbol for the exclusive
comfort within the setting of a UNESCO World Heritage
Site (yes, this status is held by the entire historical
city centre of Vienna). Close to the Albertina
museum, the Vienna State Opera and the Hofburg
palace, penthouses impress with their high ceilings,
360° all-round views, green roof landscapes as well
as an outdoor spa. Pros from studios such as Christian
L. Einwaller and Interior Moments – Isabelle Farrokhnia
are responsible for the interior design.
Schillerplatz
1870 was the year in which the history of this
building began. The planning stage of the former
”Hotel Britannia“ was put into motion by Carl Tietz
on the occasion of the busy construction activity
around the imminent World Fair. Some might still
remember it as the telecommunications centre. Not
too long ago, Paulus Manker directed his epochal piece
”Alma“ across four floors in the building. Today,
you will find first-class apartments resulting from
the interplay between old and new with creative architecture
and advanced technology providing a truly
unique living experience.
PHOTOS: RICHARD TANZER, SASCHA VAN DER WERF, TONI RAPPERSBERGER, OTTO IMMOBILIEN/MARTIN WOSCHITZ
the distance from the Mediterranean climate, ensuring
that residents can enjoy the imposing view towards
Ringstrasse and Karlsplatz throughout the
year. In close proximity to the Musikverein, the State
Opera and the Albertina museum, grand living
within the context of art and culture is part of the
overall residential experience here.
To conclude our city tour, we give the final word to
Johanna Seeber, chair of the Seeste Bau AG and expert
concerning luxury properties, to provide a focused
look at what matters most. ”Modern living standards
go hand in hand with the blending of tradition and
innovative technology. Exclusive city centre locations
in historically interesting buildings with high ceilings,
but also the combination between classic and modern
are particularly crucial. Generous and representative
entrances, high-class decor and innovative high-tech
features such as systems for entertainment, light and
security, as well as monitored room ventilation systems
with climate ceilings that can be controlled from
a distance via smartphones and tablets, are expected
in high-class properties today.“
BÖSENDORFERSTRASSE.
Penthouse mit Pool im Ringstraßenpalais in unmittelbarer Nähe zur Staatsoper von Marschall Real
Estate.
Penthouse with pool in the Ringstrassenpalais in close proximity to the State Opera, by Marschall
Real Estate.
SCHILLERPLATZ 4.
Ein geschichtsträchtiger Ruhepol inmitten
der Stadt, der von kulturellen Institutionen
Wiens umringt ist.
A historical haven in the middle of the city,
surrounded by Vienna’s cultural institutions.
Bösendorferstrasse
If you are looking for that certain something, this
is a good place to start. The penthouse with almost
300 square metres does not only have grand interior
rooms but also a terrace with windproof panoramic
glazing. Not a bad architectural touch considering
124 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

SAVOIR VIVRE LIFESTYLE
Farbe auf dem Vormarsch
Colour on the rise
Text: Michaela Hocek
Inspiration Wikinger
Inspired by Vikings
Zart schmelzend | Softly melting
Der neue „Rouge Coco Gloss“ überzeugt mit einfach
anwendbarer Textur und dem pflegenden Hydraboost-
Komplex. Für sofortige Feuchtigkeit und weiche Lippen
sorgen Jojoba-Wachs, Sonnenblumen, Mimosen und ein
Hauch Kokosöl. Das gelähnliche Finish erzielt einen
Spiegelglas-Effekt und die enthaltenen Oligopeptide
maximieren das Lippenvolumen auf natürliche Weise.
The new ”Rogue Coco Gloss“ persuades with an easily
applicable texture and the nurturing hydraboost
complex. Jojoba wax, sunflowers, mimosa and a touch of
coconut oil provide immediate moisture and soft lips.
The gel-like finish achieves a mirror glass effect and the
contained oligopeptides maximise lip volume in a natural
way. chanel.com
Für die neue Edition des „Pen of the Year“ hat sich Faber-Castell auf eine Zeitreise in das 9. Jahrhundert begeben und sich intensiv mit einem Volk und großen Seemacht aus
dem hohen Norden auseinandergesetzt: den Wikingern. Im Schaft der edlen Vikings-Kollektion sind hauchdünne Plättchen aus rötlich schimmernder Maserbirke eingelegt, die
als „Baum des Schutzes“ verehrt wurde. Die Kappe ziert ein Karneol, der Schaft ist kühl glänzend platiniert und die Feder aus 18 Karat Gold in Bicolor.
For the newest edition of the “Pen of the Year”, Faber-Castell has embarked upon a journey back in time to the 9th century to carefully explore the civilisation and great sea
power from the high north: the Vikings. Part of the shaft of the exquisite Viking collection is endowed with paper-thin plates made from reddishly shimmering curly
birchwood, which the Vikings worshipped as the “Tree of Guardianship”. The cap is decorated by carnelian, the shaft has a shiny platinum-plated finish and the nib is made of
18-carat bicolour gold. faber-castell.at
Moderne Männer
Modern men
Versace zeigt für die kommende
Saison leichte, fließende,
funktionale Kleidung, die auch
als Lagenlook funktioniert. Dazu
zählt der ultra-leichte Parka oder
schwerelose Trench ebenso wie
Zipp-Blouson und Jersey-Anzug.
Die Gentlemen von Versace
zeigen Charakter.
For the coming season, Versace
is presenting light, flowing,
functional clothing which also
works as a layered look. This
includes the ultra-light parka
and the weightless trench as
well as the zip blouson and the
jersey suit. Versace’s men are
showing character. versace.com
Schmuck-Pionierin
Jewellery pioneer
Marie Boltenstern hat mit der Schmucklinie
„Fabulous Nora“ farbenfrohe Ohrhänger als
modische Statements designt, die aus dem
3D-Drucker kommen, mit ihrer extrem leichten
Textur faszinieren und nach Wunsch zusammengestellt
werden können.
With her jewellery collection “Fabulous Nora”, Marie
Boltenstern has designed colourful earrings as a
fashion statement. Made from 3D-printers, they are
guaranteed to fascinate with their extremely light
texture. The earrings can also be customised as
desired. fabnora.com, boltenstern.com
Geniale Idee | A genius idea
Malerische Mode
Pictorial fashion
Johnny Talbot und Adrian Runhof haben für dieses Frühjahr dschungelinspirierte Outfits designt, die der
weiblichen Silhouette mit pointierter Taille und voluminösen Röcken schmeichelt. Durch die fantasievollen
Prints mit hohem Blau- und Rotanteil auf feinstem Seiden-Jacquard gewinnt die Kollektion an Leichtigkeit.
Maxi-Kleider, überweite Hosenbeine und XXL-Ärmel sind die Must-haves der Saison.
Johnny Talbot and Adrian Runhof used the jungle for inspiration to design outfits for the spring that accentuate
the female form with pointed waists and voluminous skirts. The creative prints with plenty of blue and red
tones on the finest silk jacquard give the collection the appropriate lightness. Maxi dresses, baggy trouser legs
and XXL sleeves are the season’s must-haves. talbotrunhof.com
PHOTOS: BEIGESTELLT
Blickfang in Pastell
Eye-catcher in pastel
Casadei zeigt für den Frühling ein
klassisches Modell, das durch seinen
Absatz im Metallic-Look, die schmale Linienführung
und den edlen Rosaton die
Blicke auf sich zieht. Dieses und weitere
It-Pieces mit bunten Plateaus, frühlingshaften
Prints, fruchtigen Motiven und
floralen Stickereien, gibt es bei
Salamander.
For the spring, Casadei is presenting a
classic model, guaranteed to attract looks
from all around due to its metallic looking
heel, the slim lining and the exquisite rose
tone. These and other it-pieces with
colourful plateaus, spring-like prints,
fruity motifs and floral embroideries are
available at Salamander.
salamander.at
15x10x2,5 cm: Das sind die Maße der Impibag (=important bag), die auf
engstem Raum die wichtigsten Dinge verstaut und sich mit austauschbaren
Umhängeriemen dem Outfit der Trägerin anpasst. Die Taschen
aus buntem Echtleder sind praktisch und jederzeit greifbar – untertags
und abends.
15x10x2.5 cm: these are the dimensions of the Impibag (=important
bag), which stows away the most important things in the smallest
possible way while being adaptable to the wearer’s outfit due to its
interchangeable strap. The bags, made from colourful genuine leather,
are practical and can be worn at any time – day and night.
impibag.com
126 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 127

SAVOIR VIVRE LIFESTYLE INTERIOR
Blick für’s Detail
Eye for the detail
Text: Michaela Hocek
Geometrisches Design | Geometric design
„Trio“ von Cor besteht aus drei Grundelementen, die dem Erstentwurf
von 1972 treu bleiben. Auf der „imm Köln“ wurde eine neue karamellfarbene
Ledervariante präsentiert. Die Verarbeitung ist edel: Naturbelassene
Häute werden mit Wachsemulsion versiegelt. Die doppelten
Außennähte sorgen für plastische Kanten.
”Trio“ by Cor is composed of three basic elements which remain loyal to
the first design draft from 1972. A new caramel-coloured leather
variation was presented at the imm trade show in Cologne. The
workmanship is exquisite: natural skins are sealed via wax emulsion.
The double external seams provide vivid edges.
cor.de
Spielwiese Badezimmer
Playground bathroom
Extra für Nassräume hat Tom Dixon eine neue Kollektion an
Accessoires, Leuchten sowie Handseife und Balsam designt. Die
einzelnen Teile der „Washing! Lid“-Linie aus weißem Marmor, blauem
Glas und kupferplatiniertem Edelstahl können individuell kombiniert
werden. Die Neuheiten sind ein weiteres formschönes Kapitel des
Londoner Autodidakten.
Tom Dixon has designed a new collection of accessories, lamps as
well as hand soaps and balms specially for wet rooms. The individual
pieces of the “Washing! Lid”-series made of white marble, blue glass
and copper-plated stainless steel can be combined individually.
These new items are an additional elegant chapter in the self-taught
Londoner’s career.
tomdixon.net
Flagshipstore-Eröffnung | Flagship store opening
Royale Inspiration
Royal inspiration
In Zusammenarbeit mit BN präsentiert Marcel Wanders Tapeten, die nicht mit
Opulenz und Noblesse geizen. Das Unterfangen, dekorative Kunst mit der Lust
vergangener Dekaden an Mustern in einen zeitgemäßen Kontext zu rücken, ist
absolut geglückt.
In collaboration with BN Wallcoverings, Marcel Wanders presents wallpapers
that are not exactly stingy when it comes to opulence and noblesse. The
endeavour to place decorative art with the desire for patterns from past decades
in a contemporary context has been an absolute success.
marcelwanders.com
Geschmackvolle Kooperation
Tasteful collaboration
Nespresso und Riedel haben sich für die „Reveal“-
Kollektion zusammengetan, um Espresso-Verkostungsgläser
für intensive Grand Crus zu entwickeln.
Das Ergebnis ist ein Glas, das typische Röstnuancen
und robuste Geschmacksnoten perfekt zur Geltung
bringt.
Nespresso and Riedel have come together for the
“Reveal” collection in order to develop Espresso
sample glasses for the intensive Grand Crus. The
result is a glass that perfectly accentuates the brand’s
typically toasty aromas and robust flavours.
nespresso.com
PHOTOS: BEIGESTELLT
Auch im Interieur-Bereich ist Crossover aus exklusiven Marken und
Trendsettern „in“. Ein Besuch im kürzlich eröffneten ersten österreichischen
Flagshipstore von Zara Home (Kärntner Straße 49) könnte sich
durchaus lohnen.
Even in the interior design sector, crossovers between exclusive brands
and trendsetters are more than fashionable right now. A visit to the
recently launched Austrian flagship store of Zara Home (located at
Kärntner Straße 49) could definitely pay off. zarahome.com
We take care of the details
to make you feel at HOME.
FRANZ BASCHA MÖBELMANUFAKTUR – MADE IN AUSTRIA
INTERIOR DESIGN, UPHOLSTERY, FABRICS AND REFURBISHMENT
We provide you with high-quality and comfortable mattresses, as well as
stylish and luxurious bed designs to fulfil your individual needs. Beautifully
crafted interiors, curtains and cushions complete the amenity of your residence.
128 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Franz Bascha Möbelmanufaktur
Showroom: Burggasse 85, A-1070 Vienna
b@franzbascha.at
www.franzbascha.at

SAVOIR VIVRE MADE IN AUSTRIA
Im Bann der Zeitlosigkeit
Captivated by timelessness
Text: Michaela Hocek
Mit Hommagen an weltberühmte Künstler wie Gustav Klimt oder Monet
hat Frey Wille rund um den Globus hohe Bekanntheit erlangt.
With homages to world-renowned artists such as Gustav Klimt or Monet,
Frey Wille has managed to achieve global recognition.
Frey Wille
Stephansplatz 5
1010 Wien
Tel.: +43 (0) 1 5134892
Lobkowitzplatz 1
1010 Wien
Tel.: +43 (0) 1513800914
shop.freywille.com
Handwerk pur.
Pure craftsmanship.
Bei der „Hommage à Gustav
Klimt“ treffen maskulines
Schwarz und Gold auf
feminine Pastelltöne.
At "Hommage à Gustav
Klimt", masculine black and
gold tones meet feminine
pastels.
PHOTOS: BEIGESTELLT
Die Kollektionen „Hommage à Gustav Klimt“,
„Hommage à Hundertwasser“ und „Hommage
à Claude Monet“ zählen seit einigen
Jahren zu den beliebtesten Kollektionen der österreichischen
Schmuckmanufaktur, die 1951 in Wien gegründet
wurde. Die Künstler, Goldschmiede und
Schmuckemailleure, die im Headquarter in der Gumpendorfer
Straße 81 ihre Kreativität ausleben, schaffen
völlig neue, eigenständige Designs mit Bedacht auf die
spezifischen Besonderheiten und wesentlichen Merkmale
der neuinterpretierten Berühmtheiten. Jahrelange
Kunststudien und Inspirationssuchen, unzählige
Skizzen und Aquarelle gehen der Entstehung der
Schmuckstücke voraus. Parallel dazu werden frei inspirierte
Kollektionen wie „Heavenly Joy“ oder „Golden
Kalinka“, die von europäischer und humanistischer
Philosophie, von immateriellen Werten und einer intensiven
Freude am Leben geprägt sind, kreiert.
Im Zentrum jedes Schmuckstückes steht kostbares
Email. Das flüssige Glas wird in mehreren Schichten
aufgetragen. Von der Grundierung über das Auftragen
bis zum Reinigen und Brennen fallen mehr als 80 Arbeitsschritte
an. Spezielle Farbrezepte, die Nuanceabweichungen
innerhalb der Kollektionen verhindern,
und 24-karätiger Goldstaub kommen zum Einsatz.
Die hauchdünnen Plättchen werden per Handarbeit in
die Fassungen eingesetzt. Bei den Schmuckformen erfreuen
sich Ringe und Anhänger großer Beliebtheit.
Der Halbmond-Anhänger ist mit seiner ikonischen
Form seit über 30 Jahren untrennbar mit dem Unternehmen
verbunden. Ein besonders beliebter Klassiker
sind die Armreifen, die die größte Fläche für das
künstlerisch designte Email bieten. Neben Accessoires
für Damen und Herren wie Tücher, Krawatten, Handtaschen,
Gürtel oder Manschettenknöpfe sind LES
PARFUMS FREY WILLE starkes Ausdrucksmittel der
Firmen-DNA. Die ersten vier Eau de Parfums für Damen
wurden Ende 2014 nach mehr als drei Jahren Entwicklungsarbeit
in Frankreich als „Bijoux Liquides“
(flüssige Schmuckstücke) lanciert. Im Frühjahr 2017
wurden zwei Herrendüfte ergänzt. Sie tragen der Internationalität
der Marke und dem breiten Kundenspektrum
mit höchster Qualität und Eleganz Rechnung –
1+4 „Hommage à Claude Monet“ in floraler Neuinterpretation.
"Hommage à Claude Monet” in a floral reinterpretation.
2 „Sphinx Magique“ ist einer der vier Damendüfte.
"Sphinx Magique" is one of four fragrances for ladies.
3 „Lion of Babylon“ ist eines der Designs der Men’s
Collection. ”Lion of Babylon” is one of the designs
in the Men’s Collection.
1
gemäß der Tradition und Firmenphilosophie von Frey
Wille.
The collections ”Hommage à Gustav Klimt“,
”Hommage à Hundertwasser“ and ”Hommage
à Claude Monet“ are considered among
the most admired collections of the Austrian jewellery
production company founded in Vienna in 1951.
The artists, goldsmiths and jewellery makers, who
practice their craft and creativity at the company’s
headquarters at Gumpendorfer Straße 81, create entirely
new and independent designs with attention to
the specific peculiarities and essential characteristics
of the newly interpreted artists. Many years of studying
art and searching for inspiration, countless of
sketches and aquarelles preceded the genesis of the
new jewellery pieces. Freely inspired collections, such
as ”Heavenly Joy“ or ”Golden Kalinka“, which are influenced
by European and humanistic philosophy,
immaterial values and an intense joie de vivre, are
crafted at the same time. At the centre of each and
every jewellery piece lies precious enamel. The liquid
glass is applied in several layers. The entire process,
from the foundation and the application to the cleansing
and the firing, takes more than 80 working steps.
Special colour compounds that prevent the smallest
deviations within a collection as well as 24-carat gold
dust are used. The paper-thin plates are added to the
bases by hand. When it comes to the various types of
jewellery, rings and pendants enjoy particular popularity.
Due to its iconic shape, the half-moon pendant
has been inseparable from the company for more
than 30 years. Another very beloved classic are the
bracelets, which offer the largest surface area for the
artistically designed enamel. Next to accessories for
ladies and gentlemen, such as shawls, neckties, handbags,
belts or cufflinks, the fragrance lines “Les Parfums
Frey Wille” are another very strong way for the
company to express its principles. The first four eau
de parfums for ladies were launched in France at the
end of 2014 as ”Bijoux Liquides“ (liquid jewellery)
after more than three years of development. They
contribute to the brand’s internationality and its wide
customer range due to their high quality and elegance
– entirely in accordance with Frey
Wille’s tradition and company philosophy.
3
„Handwerk,
Wiener Wurzeln
und Liebe zur
Kunst machen
Frey Wille aus.“
“Craftsmanship,
Viennese roots
and the love of art
all constitute Frey
Wille.”
Friedrich Wille
CEO und Eigentümer
CEO and owner
Erfolgsgeschichte
Success story
Zurzeit betreibt Frey Wille
mehr als 80 eigene Boutiquen
in über 30 Ländern und eine
Online-Boutique. Der
europäische Markt – allen
voran Frankreich aber auch
Deutschland und UK – sowie
der heimische Markt sind sehr
wichtig. Die wichtigsten
Exportmärkte sind Russland,
China und Dubai.
Currently, Frey Wille runs more
than 80 boutiques in more than
30 countries as well as an
online boutique. The European
market, especially France, but
also Germany and the UK as
well as the domestic market is
crucial. The most
important export
markets are Russia,
China and Dubai.
4
2

SAVOIR VIVRE LYONESS OPEN 2017
Zurück in die Zukunft
Back to the future
Das Bootshaus des DCC (Diamond
Country Club) ist beim Turnier der
VIP-Bereich (re).
During the tournament, the boat house
at the DCC (Diamond Country Club)
will be turned into the VIP area (r.).
Im Rückspiegel betrachtet, kann man über die Lyoness Open eines jedenfalls
behaupten: Das Turnier, das Christian Guzy aus der Not heraus 2010 nach Atzenbrugg
geholt hat, ist nicht weniger als die Rettung des österreichischen Profi-
Golfsports. Und es hat, im Paso Doble mit dem Diamond Country Club, eine
gelungene Metamorphose durchlebt.
In retrospective, one thing can certainly be said about the Lyoness Open: the
tournament, which Christian Guzy had brought to Atzenbrugg in 2010 as an
emergency measure, is nothing less than the salvation of Austrian professional
golfing. And it has gone through a successful metamorphosis as a paso doble with
the Diamond Country Club.
Text: Klaus Nadizar
Bernd Wiesberger,
Österreichs
erfolgreichster Golfer.
Bernd Wiesberger,
Austria´s most
successful golfer.
PHOTOS: FRONT9
Es war ein sonniger Spätseptember-Sonntag im
Jahr 2010, an dem der Spanier José Manuel
Lara sich den allerersten Titel im Diamond
Country Club holte. Das wird den meisten Golffans
weniger in Erinnerung geblieben sein als der furiose
Auftritt eines gewissen Matthias Schwab. Der damals
15-jährige Rohrmooser wurde bester Österreicher
der 2010 noch als „Austrian Open“ geführten Veranstaltung.
Lange lag Schwab auf Top-10-Kurs, ehe eine
kurze Schwächephase am Schlusstag „nur“ Rang 32
erlaubte. Der damals noch aktive Markus Brier belegte
Rang 45. Bernd Wiesberger war gar nicht erst am
Start sondern konzentrierte sich 2010 auf die Challenge
Tour. Noch ein interessantes Detail am Rande:
Danny Willett, Masters Champ 2016, verpfisterte die
letzten drei Loch des Finaltages und vergab damit seine
Siegeschance.
2017, wenn die achte Auflage der nunmehr als
Lyoness Open bekannten European Tour-Veranstaltung
im Diamond Country Club ins Haus steht, feiert
Matthias Schwab als Profi seine Premiere. Und
wo, wenn nicht in Österreich wäre das schöner und
emotionaler.
Im Mai beendet Schwab seine Karriere als US-
College-Golfer beim großen Saisonfinale für die
Top-Uni Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee. Schon
davor erhält er sein Diplom als „Bachelor of Sport
Management“. „Natürlich ist es ein Vorteil auf einem
Platz seine Profikarriere zu starten, an den man nur
gute Erinnerungen hat”, sagt Schwab, der als ganz
große heimische Hoffnung im Profigolf gehandelt
wird. Schwab, während der letzten Jahre Dauergast
in den Top 10 der Amateurweltrangliste, sieht das
nicht ganz so und kokettiert mit der ihm zugedachten
Rolle: „Ich habe in Wahrheit bis jetzt noch nichts
geleistet. Meine Amateurkarriere ist nichts wert.“
Dass dem nicht einmal ansatzweise so ist, zeigt das
Interesse der Sportleragenturen am 22-jährigen Österreicher:
Diese standen Schlange, um sich die Vermarktungsrechte
an Matthias Schwab zu sichern.
Auch Sponsoren gibt es vermutlich schon, der Zufall
spielt im Leben Schwabs kaum eine Rolle.
„Entlastung“ für Wiesberger
Wohl kaum einer wünscht sich erfolgreiche heimische
Golfspieler mehr als Bernd Wiesberger. Seit
2011 darf der Burgenländer nämlich die Last des Local
Hero de facto alleine stemmen. Kamera ab und
Bernd bekommt das mediale Scheinwerferlicht voll
ab. Umso beeindruckender seine Bilanz im Diamond
Country Club: Neben seinem Sieg 2012 und
Platz 2 im Jahr 2014, stehen weitere Top-Platzierungen
und gerade Mal zwei Runden über Par im Lyoness-Open-Portfolio.
Wie sehr der Druck der Fans
und Medien sich in negative Kräfte verwandeln können,
zeigte der Auftritt Wiesbergers 2015: Nach seinem
Sieg 2012 und dem knapp verlorenen Play-Off
um den Titel 2014 war die Erwartungshaltung allerorts
derart groß, dass selbst ein bereits durch grandiose
internationale Auftritte gestählter Wiesberger
kapitulieren musste. Nach einer 79er-Runde am ersten
Tag 2015 streicht er die Segel im Diamond Country
Club – zum bislang ersten und einzigen Mal.
Dass Bernd Wiesberger nach wie vor das Zugpferd
und die Lokomotive für die Lyoness Open ist,
wird sich so schnell wohl nicht ändern: Kein österreichischer
Golfer war je erfolgreicher als der nunmehr
32-jährige Top-Athlet aus Oberwart. Seit 2015
kontinuierlich in den Top 50 der Welt zu finden, ist
der dreifache Toursieger Wiesberger auch zum
Stammgast bei sämtlichen Majors und WGCs avanciert.
Entsprechend dicht ist damit auch sein Terminkalender.
Seinen Auftritt in Österreich lässt sich
Wiesberger aber nicht nehmen. „Es ist nicht einfacher
geworden, meinen Turnierkalender schlau zu
planen. In den USA dürfen die Managementfirmen
der Spieler nicht mehr um Einladungen anfragen.
Das müssen wir Spieler selbst machen, und die Veranstalter
lassen sich zusätzlich Zeit. Aber im Diamond
Country Club zu spielen, ist nicht nur eine
Pflicht, sondern vielmehr eine Ehre“, sagt Wiesberger,
der mehr Meilen in der Luft zurücklegt als auf
den Fairways.
Wenn er von 8. bis 11. Juni 2017 in der Nähe von
Wien bei den Lyoness Open aufteet, hat Wiesberger
innerhalb von nur vier Monaten bei Events von Qatar
über Kuala Lumpur, von Mexiko bis Georgia
(USA), eventuell China sowie England abgeschlagen.
Neben Wiesbergers Titelambitionen und dem
Premierenauftritt als Pro von Matthias Schwab gibt
es noch einen dritten Österreicher, dem man bei den
Lyoness Open 2017 die Daumen halten kann: Der
Doppelstaatsbürger Sepp Straka, der 2017 sogar eine
Karte auf der amerikanischen web.Com-Tour erspielt
hat, darf sich über eine Einladung des Veranstalters,
der „Golf Open Event GmbH“, freuen. Straka
hat wie Schwab seine Golfkarriere auf einer
Top-Uni in den USA vorangetrieben und ist 2016 ins
Profilager gewechselt.
132 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 133

SAVOIR VIVRE LYONESS OPEN 2017
„Hole-in-one“-Preis BMW i-8, Blick
auf das Par-3 Schlussloch, Ausstellerbereich
(v.l.n.r.).
„Hole-in-one“-prize BMW i-8, sight on
the par-3 last hole, area for exhibitors
(from left to right).
Diamond
Country Club
Zuschauerandrang beim
1. Abschlag (oben).
Der Sieger der Lyoness
Open 2016, der Chinese
Ashun Wu (unten).
Watching crowds at the first
tee (top).
The Chinese Ashun Wu won
the Lyoness Open 2016
(below).
Lyoness Open – der Top-Event in Österreich
Als sich Christian Guzy, der Eigentümer des Diamond
Country Club, 2010 kurzfristig dazu entschlossen
hatte, den European Tour Event in Österreich
doch nicht sterben zu lassen, fiel wohl ganz
Golf-Österreich ein Stein vom Herzen. Der Fontana
GC hatte jäh das Interesse an der European Tour verloren,
eine Rettung des Tour-Events schien kaum
mehr möglich.
Wohl hatte Guzy Interesse bekundet, wollte dem
Platz aber Zeit geben, sich zu entwickeln. Guzy hatte
die Anlage erst vor kurzem übernommen und aus
einer hochwasserbedingten „Aulandschaft“ erst
2010 wieder einen Golfplatz gemacht. Trotzdem riskierte
Guzy den Schritt, den er rückblickend wohl
nicht mehr bereut: Aus der Notlösung von 2010 entstand
ein schmucker European Tour Event, der bei
den Spielern und Offiziellen höchste Anerkennung
genießt.
Wie der Platz selbst entwickelte sich auch die Lyoness
Open jedes Jahr weiter, was sich in den Zuschauerzahlen
niederschlägt, vor allem aber in der
Zufriedenheit der Sponsoren & Partner. Ali Al-
Khaffaf, Geschäftsführer der veranstaltenden „Golf
Open Event GmbH“: „Wir versuchen jedes Jahr aus
dem Jahr davor zu lernen, hören uns die Meinungen
und Kritiken ganz genau an, um noch mehr auf die
Bedürfnisse der Zuschauer und VIP-Gäste eingehen
zu können.“ Für 2017 versucht der Veranstalter auch
wieder neue Ideen für Zuschauer, VIP-Gäste und
Kooperationspartner umzusetzen, die vor allem das
Areal um das 18. Grün betreffen. Dazu Al-Khaffaf:
„Wir denken permanent über Neuerungen nach, wie
wir das Turnier noch stärker für Unternehmen
schmackhaft machen können.“
Was das Spielerfeld betrifft, gibt man sich seitens
der Veranstalter vorsichtig optimistisch: „Es kommt
durch die extrem hoch dotierten Events nach den
Lyoness Open ein wenig Bewegung in das Thema.
Wir hoffen heuer ein zumindest ebenso stark besetztes
Feld wie 2016 zu präsentieren und sind jedenfalls
froh, dass wir den Termin im Juni behalten haben.
Für einige Turniere auf der European Tour wird es
2017 deutlich schwieriger werden, dem Publikum
ein starkes Feld zu präsentieren.“
Diamond CC – mehr als ein Golfclub
Man darf es durchaus als kleines Wunder bezeichnen,
dass die European Tour weiterhin in Österreich
aufteet und noch viel mehr, dass sie es auf
dem Diamond Country Club tun. Wie schon vorhin
erwähnt war die gesamte Anlage kurz vor dem Aus.
Zu oft hat das Hochwasser und in der Folge ein hoher
Grundwasserspiegel dem Platz zu schaffen gemacht
und dem Gründer der Anlage schlaflose
Nächte bereitet. Erst durch die Übernahme der Anlage
durch Christian Guzy im Jahr 2009 hat sich die
Situation entspannt. Der Grund: Massive Investitionen
in allen Bereichen des Platzes. Nicht nur
designtechnisch – unter anderem durfte Miguel Angel
Jimenez Hand anlegen – sondern vor allem im
Bereich der wasserbedingten Problemzonen. Es
wurden Teiche gegraben, kilometerlange Entwässerungsleitungen
angelegt und gewisse Spielbahnen so
angepasst, dass die sensiblen Zonen aus dem Spiel
genommen wurden.
All das dürfen eine Woche lang die Stars der European
Tour genießen, vielmehr aber die Mitglieder
und Greenfee-Gäste des Diamond Country Club.
Diesen präsentiert sich nach den Jahren der Metamorphose
mittlerweile ein Top-Resort internationalen
Zuschnitts mit zwei wunderbaren Plätzen. Auch
dass zwei Clubhäuser zur Verfügung stehen, lässt jedes
Golferherz höher schlagen. Clubmanager Christian
Hieke sieht aber nicht nur darin ein ganz außergewöhnliches
Asset: „Der Ausbau der Anlage mit
dem Hotel am Platz, dem fantastischen Trainingszentrum
und der rundum gelungenen Infrastruktur
zeigt langsam auch international seine Wirkung:
2017 haben wir jede Menge Buchungen von ambitionierten
Golferinnen und Golfern, die unser Angebot
zu schätzen wissen.“ Als vorläufig letzte Ausbaustufe
steht ab Herbst 2017 am Plan. Das „Diamond
PHOTOS: FRONT9
PHOTOS: FOTOLIA, FRONT9
Performance Center“, ein mit modernsten Geräten
ausgestattetes Golftrainingscenter, wird mit einem
angeschlossenen Spa-Bereich das Angebot für Mitglieder
und Gäste abrunden und so ganzjährig die
Möglichkeit bieten, seinen Golfschwung unter professioneller
Anleitung zu verbessern.
It was a sunny, late September Sunday in 2010
when the Spaniard José Manuel Lara won his
first title at the Diamond Country Club. Most
golf enthusiasts, however, probably don’t remember
the event quite as well as Matthias Schwab’s furious
performance. That Sunday, the 15-year old from
Rohrmoos became the best Austrian player of the
competition which was still known as the ”Austrian
Open“ in 2010. For quite a while, Schwab clung to his
spot in the top 10, before a bad phase on the final day
”only“ resulted in 32nd place. Markus Brier, still active
at the time, made it to 45th place, Bernd Wiesberger
wasn’t even playing in 2010 and was instead concentrating
on the Challenge Tour. And another
interesting little detail: Danny Willett, Masters
Champion of 2016, missed the last 3 holes of the final
day and thus his shot at the trophy.
2017, when the eighth edition of the European
Tour event, now known as the Lyoness Open, is to be
held at the Diamond Country Club, is also the year
in which Matthias Schwab finally gets to make his
professional debut. And where else could it possibly
be better and more emotional to do so than in Austria?
Schwab ended his career as a US-college golf
player in May after a great season finale for the elite
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. Previously,
he had received his bachelor’s degree in Sports
Management. ”Of course it is beneficial to launch
your career on a course you only have fond memories
of,“ says Schwab, who is treated as Austria’s great
professional golfing hope. Schwab, a regular entry in
the top 10 World Amateur Golf Ranking of the last
couple of years, doesn’t see it exactly that way and
merely flirts with the role he was given, ”To tell you
the truth, I haven’t achieved anything as of right now.
My amateur career isn’t worth a thing.“ The fact that
this couldn’t be further from the truth is demonstrated
by the great interest that athlete agencies have
expressed in the 22-year-old Austrian, as they waited
in in long lines to get their hands on Matthias
Schwab’s marketing rights. And there are plenty of
sponsors as well. Coincidence doesn’t really play a
role in Schwab’s life.
”Relief“ for Wiesberger
Few others wish for successful local golf players
as much as Bernd Wiesberger does. Since 2011, the
Burgenland native has been carrying the weight of
the title of the ”local hero“ all by himself. The golfer
is fully engulfed in the limelight of the media which
makes his performance at the Diamond Country
Club even more impressive. Next to his victory in
2012 and second place in 2014, there are several
other top rankings as well as only two rounds over
par in his Lyoness Open portfolio. His performance
in 2015, however, showed how quickly the pressure
from the fans and the media can transform into negative
energy – after his victory in 2012 and the narrowly
lost playoff for the title in 2014, the expectation
was so great that Wiesberger, though hardened by
several grandiose international appearances, had to
give up: in 2015, after a round of 79, Austria’s number
one threw the towel at the Diamond Country
Club – for the first and only time thus far.
That Bernd Wiesberger continues to be the driving
force behind the Lyoness Open is probably not
going to change anytime soon. No Austrian golf
player has ever been more successful than the now
32-year-old athlete from Oberwart. Steadily found
in the top 50 of the world in 2015, the three-time
tour champion has also advanced to becoming a regular
at all Majors and WGCs. His calendar is filled
up accordingly. His performance in Austria, however,
is something that Wiesberger won’t miss out on.
”Planning my tournament calendar hasn’t gotten
any easier. In the USA, the management companies
behind each player are no longer permitted to request
invitations. Us players need to do that ourselves
now and the event organisers like to take their
time. But playing in the Diamond Country Club is
not only a duty but even a matter of honour for me,“
says Wiesberger, who covers more miles up in the air
than on the fairways. When appearing at the Lyoness
Open close to Vienna between 8 and 11 June 2017,
Wiesberger will have finished off a journey spanning
Qatar, Kuala Lumpur, Mexico, Georgia (USA) as
well as China and England in just four months.
Next to his title ambitions and Matthias Schwab’s
professional debut, there is a third Austrian you can
cross your fingers for at the Lyoness Open 2017: the
dual-citizen Sepp Straka, who even won a
Der Club wurde seit der
Übernahme durch Christian
Guzy mehrfach zu Österreichs
Golfclub des Jahres gewählt.
Auch die Küche rund um
Gastronom Gerhard Becher
zählt ebenfalls zu den Besten
des Landes. Speziell das
Boathouse, eines der beiden
Clubhäuser, ist eine der besten
Party-Locations des Landes.
Nachwuchsarbeit ist eines der
Top-Themen, das vom
pulsierenden Clubleben im
Diamond Country Club
vorangetrieben wird. Kinder
bis 14 Jahre spielen hier gratis!
Aktuell besteht der Club aus
dem Diamond Course, dem
Country Course und dem Park
Course.
Since Christian Guzy’s takeover,
the club has been named
Austria’s golf club of the year
several times. Restaurant
proprietor Gerhard Becher’s
kitchen is also considered
among the best in the country.
Especially the Boathouse, one of
the two club houses, is one of
the prime party locations in the
country.
The next generation is a key
topic, advanced by the Diamond
Country Club’s pulsating club
life. Children of up to 14 years
can play here for free!
Currently, the club consists of
the Diamond Course, the
Country Course and the Park
Course.
Top-Events 2017
Lyoness Open 8.-11. Juni /
June
European Team Championship
11.-15. Juli / July
Texas Scramble World
Championship 11.-13. August
134 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 135

SAVOIR VIVRE LYONESS OPEN 2017
Lyoness Open
2017
Zahlen & Fakten
Facts & figures
Wasserreiche Spielbahnen
im DCC (re.).
Der Sieger 2015, Chris Wood (unten).
Watery pitches at the DCC (r.).
The winner of 2015, Chris Wood
(below).
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1. Turniertag
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2. Turniertag, CUT
Samstag, 10.6.2017:
3. Turniertag
Sonntag, 11.6.2017: Finaltag
und Siegerehrung
Teilnehmer:
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Modus: 4 Runden Zählspiel,
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Winner’s cheque: 166,666
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Saturday & Sunday: 20 Euro
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card for the American web.Com-Tour, is excited
about an invitation from the event organiser Golf
Open Event GmbH. Straka has, like Schwab, accelerated
his golfing career at an elite university in the
USA and has gone pro in 2016.
Lyoness Open – the top event in Austria
When Christian Guzy, the owner of the Diamond
Country Club, quickly decided in 2010 to not let the
European Tour Event in Austria die off, a weight was
probably lifted from the hearts of golf lovers across
Austria. As the Fontana GC had lost interest in the
European Tour, the event’s rescue seemed nearly impossible.
Although Guzy had expressed interest, he wanted
to give the course some time for development. Guzy
had just taken over the facility and managed to turn
a flooded landscape into a golf course again in 2010.
Nevertheless, it was a risky step for him, one which
he does not regret. From the emergency solution in
2010, a stylish European Tour Event was born that
enjoys high recognition from players and officials
alike.
Like the course itself, so did the Lyoness Open develop
more and more from year to year, which can be
deduced from the audience numbers, but especially
from the satisfaction of the sponsors and partners.
Ali Al-Khaffaf, CEO of the organising company Golf
Open Event GmbH, ”Each year, we try to learn from
the year before and listen closely to the opinions and
criticisms in order to accommodate the needs of the
audience and the VIP guests even more.“ For 2017,
the organiser is working hard on new ideas for the
audience, VIP guests and cooperation partners related
to the area next to the 18th hole. ”We are constantly
thinking about innovations to make the tournament
even more tasty to enterprises“, Al-Khaffaf
says. Concerning the playing field, the organiser presents
himself carefully optimistic. ”Due to the highly
remunerated events, things are starting to happen in
regard to that topic. So we hope to present an at least
as well manned field as we did in 2016. In any case,
we are happy that we managed to keep the date in
June. It’s going to be rather difficult for several other
tournaments on the European Tour in 2017 to present
such a strong field to the audience.“
Diamond CC – more than just a golf club
It may very well be described as a small miracle
that the European Tour is going to continue happening
in Austria, and even more so that it will be held
at the Diamond Country Club. As mentioned previously,
the entire facility was close to being shut down.
Floods, as well as high groundwater levels, too frequently
tampered with the course, giving the facility’s
founder one headache after another. The situation
finally relaxed when Christian Guzy acquired the facility
in 2009. The reason was massive investments in
the course’s each and every corner. And not just in
terms of appearances – Miguel Angel Jimenez was
able to contribute as well – but especially in terms of
the water-induced problems. Ponds were trenched,
kilometre-long drainage pipes built and certain fairways
adjusted in such a way that the sensitive zones
were removed from the game.
All of this will certainly be enjoyed by the stars of
the upcoming European Tour, but perhaps even
more so by the members and the Diamond Country
Club’s green fee guests. After years of metamorphosis,
they will be able to experience an elite resort at an
international standard with two wonderful courses.
And the fact that two club houses are available as
well is guaranteed to make every golfer’s heart beat
faster.
Club manager Christian Hieke, however, notes
even more factors that make this an extraordinary
asset, ”The development of the facility with the hotel
close to the course, the fantastic training centre and
the overall accomplished infrastructure is slowly starting
to gain international traction. We received
countless of bookings from ambitious golfers for
2017 who appreciate our offer.“
An additional and – at least tentatively – last step
will be the development of the project in this autumn.
The planned ”Diamond Performance Center“,
a golf training center stocked with the most modern
equipment and also enclosed spa area, will top off the
range for members as well as for guests – and will
therefore be able to offer the possibility to brush up
one´s swing under professional guidance.
PHOTOS: FRONT9
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136 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017

SAVOIR VIVRE AMBASSADOR´S DRIVE
Auf der Straße: BMW 520d xDrive. Am Steuer: S.E. Sami Ukelli
On the road: BMW 520d xDrive. At the steering wheel: H.E. Sami Ukelli
Der Botschafter der Republik Kosovo auf CD-Testfahrt. | The Ambassador of the Republic
of Kosovo performs a test drive for CD.
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
Am besten gefällt ihm der Schlüssel des neuen
„BMW 520d xDrive“ – ein Mini-Computer
mit Display, mit dem man den Wagen sogar
einparken kann. Behutsam wiegt er das Teil in seiner
Hand, streicht über den kleinen Bildschirm, drückt
hier, presst da. Und dann macht er einen auf David
Hasselhoff und lenkt die Limo so wie weiland der
Knight Rider seinen „Kitt“ per Fernsteuerung souverän
in die Parklücke. „Echt cool“, schmunzelt er.
Willkommen beim vierten „Ambassador‘s Drive“
von „Cercle Diplomatique“, der sich langsam zu einem
kleinen Fixpunkt im hektischen Getriebe des
diplomatischen Lebens in Wien entwickelt. Diesmal
wird die Mitte Februar 2017 präsentierte Sport-Limousine
der gerade gestarteten siebten Generation
aus der BMW 5-Reihe auf Herz und Nieren getestet.
Am Steuer sitzt Sami Ukelli, der Botschafter der Republik
Kosovo, der selbst ein älteres 5er-Modell als
Dienstwagen nutzt und recht genau weiß, wo und
wie er den Wagen ausreizen kann.
Oder besser: an den vielen neuen Hightech-Gadgets
herumspielen kann. Im Nu horcht er den Bordcomputer
mit etwas Getippe auf dem Touchscreen-
Display aus – siehe da: man kann die Zieladresse
sogar mit dem Finger schreiben. Ähnlich verspielt
geht‘s auf dem Weg nach Klosterneuburg weiter: Mit
sanftem Fingerkreisen dreht er die Radio-Lautstärke
hoch, dann wechselt er mit einem Wischen den Sender,
und als ein Anruf von der Botschaft reinkommt,
nimmt er ihn mit einer Zeigefinger-Geste über die
Kommandozentrale an. Solche Spielereien machen
Ukelli sichtlich Spaß. „Eins A“, sagt er bloß.
Tatsächlich ist der kleine Ausflug für den Vertreter
des jüngsten, seit 2008 unabhängigen Staates Europas,
der in Linz Sozialwissenschaften studiert und
dort auch seine Frau, eine Albanerin, kennengelernt
hat, eine willkommene Abwechslung zu einem Alltag
im Krisenmodus wegen des ungelösten Konflikts
mit Serbien. Soeben hatte Belgrad einen Propaganda-Zug
ins kosovarische Mitrovica geschickt – mit
dem provokanten Schriftbanner „Kosovo ist Serbien“
bestückt. Bereits zuvor hatten Kosovo-Serben in
Mitrovica genau auf jener Brücke, die den Norden
und den Süden friedlich verbinden soll, eine Mauer
errichtet. „Die Serben wollen einfach nicht akzeptieren“,
seufzt Ukelli, „dass wir ein eigener Staat sind.“
Dann erzählt er mit schweren Worten, wie sehr
dieser kleine, junge Staat noch an den Folgen des
Krieges zu leiden hat: ein Drittel der Bevölkerung
ausgewandert, mehr als 50 Prozent Jugendarbeitslo-
Sami Ukelli vor dem
brandneuen BMW 520 in
Wien-Heiligenstadt.
Sami Ukelli in front of the
brandnew BMW 520 in Vienna‘s
Heiligenstadt district.
138 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017 139

SAVOIR VIVRE AMBASSADOR´S DRIVE
sigkeit, mühsamer Kampf gegen die organisierte Kriminalität.
„Unsere Wirtschaft wächst jetzt zwar wieder,
2016 sogar um vier Prozent“, sagt Ukelli. „Aber
das reicht noch nicht für den Durchbruch.“ Und so
preist er die vielen Investitionsmöglichkeiten im Kosovo,
die sprachbegabte, junge Bevölkerung (Durchschnittsalter:
27,9 Jahre) und die große Hoffnung auf
einen weit entfernten EU-Beitritt.
Dann nimmt er das Steuer – der Wagen ist bisher
halbautonom wie auf Schienen gefahren – wieder
fest in die Hand und steigt tief aufs Gas – „mal sehen,
wie er anzieht, immerhin sind wir ja auf einer Testfahrt“.
Eine Freude, wie das Auto losdüst. Schließlich
hebt er zwei Finger zum Victory-Zeichen vor das
Display – und der BMW 520d xDrive weiß, dass er
nach Hause fahren muss. Ukelli schmunzelt wieder.
Obviously Sami Ukelli, 44, the Ambassador of
the Republic of Kosovo, likes to play. Before
starting to our forth ”Ambassador‘s Drive“
in the brand new BMW 520d xDrive, he fumbles
with the car‘s digital key, tele-parking it via minidisplay.
While driving the sports-limo – which is one
of the highlight-models of the 7th generation of the
BMW 5 series – to Klosterneuburg, he tunes the radio
with a finger gesture, swipes through the channels
and tips and tips and tips on the hightech touchscreen,
smiling like a lucky child. Then he delivers
his short verdict: „A plus“.
For Ukelli, who has studied Social Sciences in
Linz where he also met his Albanian wife, the testdrive
for CD certainly is a welcome break from his
daily work in crisis-modus due to the still unsolved
conflict with Serbia. Just a few days ago, a Serbian
propaganda train was sent from Belgrade to Mitrovica
with the grim banner-message „Kosovo is Serbia“.
And some weeks before, Kosovo-Serbs have erected
a wall on the bridge of Mitrovica that should peacefully
connect the north and south of Europe‘s youngest
country which only gained independence in
2008. „Serbia cannot accept that Kosovo now is a
state of its own“, Ukelli sighs.
Then he outlines the sad economic conditions his
country has to fight with – a war legacy which led to
the emigration of a third of the population and is leaving
more than 50 percent of the young without jobs.
But Ukelli is full of hope, and so he holds up his fingers
for victory – which is also a gesture command
for the BMW to semi-autonomously drive home.
INFO:
bmw-wien.at
140 Cercle Diplomatique 1/2017
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
Vor der Ausfahrt: Botschafter Sami Ukelli (2.v.r.) mit CD-
Herausgeber Alexander Bursky (2.v.l.), Franz Mayerhofer
von BMW Wien (r.) und CD-Autor Rainer Himmelfreundpointner.
Before the cruise: Ambassador Sami Ukelli (2nd r.) with CD
publisher Alexander Bursky (2nd left), Franz Mayerhofer,
BMW Vienna (r.) and CD author Rainer Himmelfreundpointner
(l.).
Botschafter Sami Ukelli aus dem Kosovo hat gut lachen – er hat den neuen
BMW 520d xDrive auf der Testfahrt zur Stiftskirche in Klosterneuburg (ganz
oben) auf Herz und Nieren geprüft und meint kurz und bündig: „Eins A.“
With a smile, Sami Ukelli, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kosovo, delivers
his verdict of the test drive of the BMW 520d xDrive (with a short stop at the
church of the Klosterneuburg Monestary) – ”A plus“.
BMW 520d xDrive – die Sport-Limousine
BMW 520d xDrine – the sports limousine
Mit fast acht Millionen verkauften Fahrzeugen ist die BMW 5er-Reihe ein echter
Klassiker, der nun für die siebte Generation (weltweiter Verkaufsstart war Mitte Februar
2017) noch einmal verbessert wurde. Der BMW 520d xDrive zählt zu den sportlichen
Top-Modellen der 5er-Reihe und besticht nicht nur durch seine Dynamik in Aussehen
und Fahrverhalten, sondern auch mit jeder Menge modernster Technologie, wie man sie
von der 7er-Reihe gewohnt ist – etwa Sprach- und Gestensteuerung sowie Touch-Screen.
The classic BMW 5-series with its nearly 8 million sold vehicles has just started into its
7th generation in mid February 2017. And the BMW 520d xDrive is one of its new sports
limos delivering an all-eyes-on-effect thanks to its dynamic looks and driving features. It
is also packed with state-of-the-art-technology only found in the 7-series.
Technische Daten Technical data
Motor Engine
4 Zylinder R/4/4 | 4 Cylinder R/4/4 TwinPower Turbo Tech
Antrieb Drive
8-Gang Steptronic, 0-100 km/h: 7,6 sec. | 8-gear steptronic , 0-100 km/h: 7,6 sec.
kW (PS) kw (HP) 140 kW/190 PS
Hubraum Capacity 1.995 ccm
Kraftstoffverbrauch/
Fuel consumption
4,0 l/100 km (kombiniert combined)
Preis Price BMW 520d xDrive € 55.320,– (inkl./ incl. NoVA & 20% Mwst./ VAT)
BMW WIEN
BMW Austria GmbH
S A L Z B U R G
c o n t e m p o r a r y
BMW Wien ist eine direkte Niederlassung der BMW Group und präsentiert die
komplette Welt von BMW. Bestens ausgebildete Verkaufsberater stehen Kunden aus
der Diplomatie und von Internationalen Organisationen an den beiden Standorten in
1190 Wien-Heiligenstadt und 1220 Wien–Donaustadt zur professionellen Beratung zur
Verfügung.
BMW Vienna is the local branch of the German BMW Group and is offering the
complete universe of BMW, the Bavarian luxury car maker. Its highly trained sales staff
is serving clients from diplomacy as well as international organisations at both outlets
in 1190, Vienna-Heiligenstadt and 1220, Vienna-Donaustadt most professionally.
BMW WIEN HEILIGENSTADT
Heiligenstädter Lände 27
1190 Wien
Diplomatic Sales:
Franz Mayerhofer
Tel.: +43 (1) 360 61/2254
franz.mayerhofer@bmw-wien.at
Bernhard Troppert
Tel.: +43 (1) 360 61/2225
bernhard.troppert@bmw-wien.at
22 – 25 juni 2017
internationale messe für zeitgenössische kunst,
klassische moderne & antiquitäten
BMW WIEN DONAUSTADT
Rautenweg 4-6
1220 Wien
messezentrum salzburg ∙ hallen 3/5
do – sa 11.00 – 19.00 ∙ so 11.00 – 18.00
www.art-salzburg-contemporary.com
Diplomatic