Andrea Belasco and Tiann Nelson-Luck
Greenfield High School
Council of the European Union
Austria is in full support of forming a unified European Union military force.
Austria also believes that SAFE will represent a major step toward the European Union’s takeover of member states’ armed forces. The Synchronized Armed Forces Europe is a concept for an ever closer synchronization of the Europe forces. Under the common security and defense policy, it will have its own training standards and operational principle. The military force will be structured closest to what is called the European Union Military and currently is the deployment force called the European Union Battlegroup (BG). It will be made up of a completely voluntary force and aims to integrate the European security structure. It will consist of forces from all member nations within the European Union and is based on a combined arms, a battalion sized force and reinforced with Combat Support and
Combat Service Support elements.
Within the discussion of a unified military- plans are being created to form a European Union
Council of Defense Ministers and a European statute for soldiers within the framework of
SAFE governing training standards, operational doctrine and freedom of operational action.
Additionally, implementing a unified force will draw Europe farther away from NATO, therefore they will not depend as heavily upon United States’ technology, security, and provisions. According to Eurocorps, “The purpose of the European Defence Agency is to support the Member States and the Council of Europe in order to improve European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management, and to sustain and develop the European
Security and Defence Policy.” 1 As a member of the European Council, Austria fully agrees to that statement. Austria wants a unified European Military Force.
In response to this action, the United States would lose leverage and control within European nations and Europe’s structure as a whole. Austria believes that Europe will be better off if
Europe can stay in control without the United States helping as much as they do. As a result, the U.S. would be angry over losing control within a powerful nation. As it says in BBC
News, “Europe needs to stop depending so much on the U.S. to help solve all the problems
Europe has.” 2 Building a unified military force also gives more power to Europe and gives them more weight and opportunities against other influential nations, including Russia, the
United States and China. Therefore, this will move nations all over Europe towards closer integration.
1 "European Union - European Defence Agency - EU Helsinki Headline Goal 2010 - EU Military Plans - EU
Military Structures - Eurocorps - m23 - Armed Forces." Armed Forces - Defence Suppliers Directory - Defence
And Security Consultancy - Military Books - Armed Forces of Europe - Royal Navy - British Army - Royal Air Force
- RAF - Defence News - Defence Projects. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.armedforces.co.uk/mod/listings/l0023.html>.
2 "BBC News | Talking Point | Should there be a European army?" BBC NEWS, 20 May 1999. Wed. 26 Feb.
2010.
<http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:EkRtK6r2cMsJ:news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/talking_point/newsid_3390
00/339922.asp+unified+european+army+in+austria&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us>.

Andrea Belasco and Tiann Nelson-Luck
Greenfield High School
Council of the European Union
Austria concurs with the Council of the European Union that a unified energy policy is needed as is the need to research more new forms of renewable energy. As a country, Austria does not produce much energy and many times relies heavily on external suppliers, like
Russia, for their energy. After the Russia and Ukraine dispute in early 2009, it is of great concern that it could happen again. Likewise, Austria understands it is Russia’s right to sell, and therefore export, it is not Europe’s job to import it. It is also believed that a closer
European cooperation on the policy of energy, would give the European Union more leverage when it come to countries like Russia, who like to exert their power in a more open method.
As it says in
Austria's Trade, Export of Wine, Energy & Industry, “
Up to 70% of the energy comes from renewable sources, primarily water which is used for electricity: while the rest are imported from other countries.” 3
Austria has limited domestic reserves of oil and natural gas. It shows in the International Energy Data and Analysis for Austria, “In 2008, an annual energy report showed that the energy produced by Austria, like petroleum, was down by a little less than a percent.” 4
Though a unified energy policy within the European Union,
Austria would benefit highly from it and the policy would keep them out of harm’s way when it comes to upsetting Russia- yet, Austria would be very limited in what they could contribute. However, the country produces much machinery and chemicals, so they would be able to trade machinery products or chemicals for an energy flow to them through Europe.
Action Plan for Energy Efficiency says, “To ward off future possible crises within the
European Union, an Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (2007-2012) was adopted and aimed at decreasing the overall consumption of energy in various ways by twenty percent,” 5
so the
EU would not have to depend so heavily on external energy sources in the first place. To aid in the common goal of lowering energy consumption, Austria can put more money toward researching renewable energy sources. The Action Plan for Energy Efficiency aims to improve the energy performance of products, buildings and services; to improve the
3 "Austria's Trade, Export of Wine, Energy & Industry." Vacation in Austria: Travel Information of the Austrian
Tourist Office. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2010. <http://www.austria.info/uk/about-austria/trade-industry-
1128523.html>.
4 "EIA - International Energy Data and Analysis for Austria." Austria Energy Profile. 6 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 Feb.
2010. <http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/country/country_energy_data.cfm?fips=AU>.
5 "Action Plan for Energy Efficiency (2007-12)." EUROPA – The official website of the European Union. 9 Mar.
2008. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
<http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/energy/energy_efficiency/l27064_en.htm>.

surrender of energy production and distribution; to reduce the impact of transport energy consumption; to ease the financing and investments in the division; to encourage and merge rational energy consumption behavior and to step up international action on energy efficiency. With all the components of the plan already in place, Austria should be able to contribute to the research on developing new energy sources. By simply being a part of the
Action Plan, they are helping to work toward that common goal of European energy interdependence. Additionally, the Energy Community Treaty works toward cooperation with Europe, as it creates an internal market and supply of natural gas and electricity. While everyone participates in these treaties and plans, a unified energy plan should not be too far away. Austria supports this goal, though limited in the resources they can provide, they are willing to help in many ways.
Andrea Belasco and Tiann Nelson-Luck
Greenfield High School
Council of the European Union
Austria is in agreement with the implementation of the Tampere Program, with the objective of tightening immigration policies both legal and illegal. It says in Migration News that, “In
2007, Austria took its own actions designed to restrict the participation in their markets from
‘new’ European Union member states for seven years.” 6 Additionally, Austria, along with
Finland and Belgium, completed a study, titled Police and Secure Borders.
After the completion of the study, they set up a kind of border patrol to prevent trafficking and illegal immigration.
Creating stricter immigration policies is most important to Austria. Austria has been known as an asylum and migration country, with many citizens from the area of Turkey and the former Yugoslavia. Austria is also known as a transit migration country- with many who aim to pass through Austria’s attitude as ambivalence in the early 2000s, neither denying nor
6 "EU: A8, Pact, Blue Cards - Migration News |." Migration Dialogue. Jan. 2009. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
<http://migration.ucdavis.edu/mn/more.php?id=3488_0_4_0>.

welcoming immigrants. With the September 11 th
terrorist act, Austria has taken a dislike to immigration; and Europe’s general attitude is seen through the difficultness in traveling from country to country if a person is not a natural born European citizen. Immigration lately has become more of a problem for the Europe in its entirety and an increase in northern African and Asian immigrations has been seen for southern Europe.
To an extent, the program is effective in managing the amount of legal and illegal immigrants into European member states. By evaluating the demographic and economic situations of each country accepting immigrants- the flow of legal immigrants can be easily managed. Yet, a huge problem lies within human trafficking and smuggling illegally across the borders.
According to Hague programme, “The Tampere, and in accordance the Hague Program, are not strong enough in dealing with illegal immigrants.”
7
Many countries, like Austria, still call for stronger immigration programs. As noted above, they even took their own initiatives to blockade against both authorized and unlawful immigration.
Immigration impacts a variety of issues: demographic constraints, economic needs, social expectations, health impacts, trade commitments, development needs, education opportunities, and security. In the past, Austria has been open to those in need of asylum and migrants, but recent opinions have changed resulting in the desire for a tightening on immigration policies. While in favor of the Tampere Program, a stronger program yet is still needed for the success of Europe. By implementing a unified immigration policy, Europe as a whole would conduct more leverage and power in control of terrorism.
7 "Hague programme - JHA programme 2005-10 |." EurActiv. 29 Jan. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.
<http://www.euractiv.com/en/security/hague-programme-jha-programme-2005-10/article-130657>.