US embassy cable - 05VIENNA3746

C O N F I D E N T I A L VIENNA 003746 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CCA AND EUR/AGS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/28/2015 
TAGS: PREL, ETRD, ETTC, CU, AU 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIA: REVIEW OF LIBERTAD ACT SUSPENSION 
 
REF: STATE 207359 
 
Classified By: Economic-Political Counselor Gregory E. Phillips for 
reasons 1.5 (b) and (d). 
 
Policies to Advance Democracy and Human Rights 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
1.  (C) Andreas Melan, the MFA's Latin America 
DAS-equivalent, told us November 23 that Austria continues to 
promote human rights and democracy issues bilaterally and in 
international fora.  He stressed that the GoA based its Cuba 
policy on the EU's two points of focus: intensifying contacts 
with civil society and engaging GoC officials on democracy 
and human rights.  Melan admitted that engagement with the 
GoC had not yielded results, particularly in regards to the 
release of political prisoners.  Nevertheless, Melan noted 
that there is EU-wide agreement that senior-level Member 
State officials must raise democracy and human rights points 
during meetings with GoC interlocutors. 
 
2.  (C) Melan said the GoA believed it was important to 
expand contacts with civil society beyond the traditional 
circle of political dissidents.  The Church, in Melan's 
opinion, was a potentially powerful force in civil society, 
which could further human rights.  Melan noted that the EU 
needed to maintain a fine line in its support for dissidents. 
 Too much overt support to a particular group would attract 
unwanted attention from the GoC, which would inevitably 
weaken or compromise the group's effectiveness.  Melan 
claimed the EC was preparing a study that would recommend new 
approaches to financing Cuban civil society informally. 
 
3.  (C) According to Melan, the Austrian Embassy in Havana 
canceled its national day reception on October 26.  Melan 
said the GoA favored a consensus approach within the EU 
regarding invitations for national days.  The GoA agreed with 
the UK Presidency's recommendation to cancel national day 
celebrations unless Member States invited both GoC and 
opposition officials. 
 
 
Austria's Economic Relations with Cuba 
-------------------------------------- 
4.  (U) Total trade with Cuba in the first six months of 2005 
amounted to Euro 3.0 million.  Austrian exports to Cuba 
declined by 39.2% during the period, while imports from Cuba 
increased by 60.4%.  Trade with Cuba accounted for less than 
.01% of Austria's total trade.  Major exports in 2004 
included machinery and vehicles and manufactured goods. 
Principal imports were tobacco and beverages, as well as 
foodstuffs. 
 
5.  (SBU) Before 2003, there was no Austrian FDI in Cuba 
apart from a small brewery in Havana (Salm Brau).  Since the 
signing of the Austrian-Cuban Agreement on Investment 
Protection in 2001, Cuba has actively lobbied to attract 
Austrian investment in the tourism/hospitality sector. 
18,000 Austrians visited Cuba in 2003 (latest statistics 
available).  LaudaAir, a subsidiary of Austrian Airlines, 
flies weekly to Cuba.  At the end of November, a joint GoA 
and GoC governmental commission will convene to discuss trade 
and investment problems. 
 
6.  (SBU) An Agreement on Investment Protection and an 
Agreement on Economic, Industrial, and Scientific Cooperation 
are in force.  The Austrian export-import entity, the Control 
Bank, offers short-term export credit guarantees of up to 
Euro 500,000. 
 
7.  (C) Embassy Vienna knows of no Austrian direct investment 
that might be subject to Libertad Act Title III.  We have no 
information regarding any new or contemplated projects that 
might result in litigation under the Libertad Act. 
 
 
Waiver for Austria in the U.S. National Interest 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
8.  (C) In post's assessment, given Austria's quite limited 
current or potential investment in Cuba, revoking the Title 
III waiver for Austria would likely negatively affect 
bilateral relations at an important moment, as Austria 
assumes the EU Presidency in January 2006.  A termination of 
the waiver would also make our cooperation on promoting human 
rights in Cuba in international fora more difficult.  We 
defer to USEU for an analysis of how not renewing the 
suspension of the Libertad Act Title III for an EU Member 
State might affect overall U.S.-EU relations. 
VAN VOORST