Country Of Austria

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Austria (02/05)

The People's Party advocates conservative financial policies and privatization of much of Austria's nationalized industry. It finds support from farmers, large and small business owners, and some lay Catholic groups, mostly in the rural regions of Austria. In 2002, it received 42.3% of the vote. The rightist Freedom Party traditionally had a base in classic European liberalism. However, a mixture of populism and anti-establishment themes steadily gained support in recent years. It attracted about 27% of the vote in the 1999 elections, but only 10% of the vote in 2002. The Liberal Forum, founded on libertarian ideals, split from the Freedom Movement in February 1993. It received 3.7% of the vote in the 1999 election and thus failed to enter the national legislature. The Greens, a left-of-center party focusing on environmental issues, received 9.5% of the national vote in 2002. ... [Read More]

Austria: Country Commercial Guide (FY1997)

Broadcast media: Austrian television is a state monopoly.The Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) operates two televisionstations, both offering programming with content similar to thatof private stations: news, movies, sports, talk shows, and theinevitable reruns of American situation comedies. Naturally, advertisingis also present, albeit primarily during breaks between programs.This broadcast monopoly is being challenged by cable and satellitetelevision, which is widely available in Austria. The latest figuresshow around 65% of Austrian households capable of receiving eithercable or satellite television, both of which offer private Germanbroadcasters, as well as other European senders and internationalservices, including CNN and CNBC. The price charged for advertisingvaries widely: reaching 1,000 viewers on ORF cost an average ofabout $23 in 1995, while competing cable and satellite broadcasterscharge between $7 and $17 for the same access. Another blow tothe Austrian tele ... [Read More]

Countries and Other Areas

Information about countries (including dependencies and areas of special sovereignty) under the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs is available through the links at left. The list is sorted alphabetically by short-form names. For long-form names, please refer to the Background Notes or see the list of Independent States of the World. ... [Read More]

Austria

Austria is a multiparty parliamentary democracy in which constitutional power is shared between the popularly elected President and the 183-member Parliament. Citizens choose their President and representatives in periodic, free, and fair multiparty elections. In 1998, President Thomas Klestil of the Austrian People's Party (OVP) was elected to a 6-year term. In parliamentary elections in November 2002, the OVP received a plurality and renewed its right-center coalition with the Freedom Party (FPO). The judiciary is independent.The national police maintain internal security, and the army is responsible for external security. The civilian authorities maintained effective control of the security forces. There were reports that the police committed some human rights abuses.The country's highly developed, market-based economy, with its mix of technologically advanced industry, modern agriculture, and tourism, affords the ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Austria

There were no accurate statistics on trafficked persons. However, the number of intercepted illegal immigrants, some of whom some were believed to be trafficking victims, continued to increase. In 2003, the NGO LEFOE reported that it assisted 142 victims of trafficking, down from 208 victims in 2002. The country was particularly attractive to traffickers because of its geographic location and because citizens of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria did not need visas to enter the country. Most trafficked women were brought to the country with promises of unskilled jobs such as nannies or waitresses. Upon arrival, they were coerced into prostitution. According to police, there also were cases of women who knowingly entered the country to work as prostitutes, but who then, were forced into dependency akin to slavery. Most victims were in the country illegally and feared being turned into authorities and deported. Traffickers usually retained victims' official docu ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Cyprus is a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Traffickers who forced women into prostitution continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. There was increasing evidence of Chinese women being trafficked for sexual exploitation in Cyprus. The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking efforts over the past year. The new police anti-trafficking unit produced successful results and showed vigilance in combating the problem. Government recognition of the problem improve ... [Read More]

Austria

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Austria
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