The Brenner Base Tunnel, which has been under construction since 2007, is a pure train tunnel with a total length of 64 kilometers that runs between Innsbruck and the South Tyrolean municipality of Franzensfeste in Italy – here over 55 kilometers. It is considered a core element of the new rail connection from Munich in Germany to Verona in Italy – more about this in tirol.ORF.at.
Steinmeier is betting that Germany will not embarrass itself when building the Brenner base tunnel and will complete the inlet on the Bavarian side in time. Asked whether Germany could afford not to complete the project, he replied: “Hopefully it won’t come to that.” That is why the German Bundestag will also look again at the question of financing this winter. On the German side there is still no binding planning for the route in the Inn Valley.
New German Embassy building opens
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On Wednesday, Steinmeier and Van der Bellen officially opened the new German embassy in Vienna. “Building a new house is also an act of trust,” said Steinmeier. “You build where you feel understood and see a future.” Van der Bellen described the new message as a “symbol of our close partnership”.
It is unbelievable how naturally “our countries live side by side with common values,” said Steinmeier. This sometimes also includes “common ridicule,” joked Steinmeier. “It’s good to be able to laugh at each other,” because that only works among “real friends.”
Austria and Germany are united by the “will to cope with the future,” says Van der Bellen. In principle, it is a “new place of exchange” as well as “a new chapter of German diplomacy in Austria and a symbol of our close partnership”.
The darkest chapter in the relations between the two countries was the National Socialist rule in Austria after the invasion of German troops in 1938, Steinmeier had previously explained when awarding the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany to Friedrich Forsthuber, President of the Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters. Steinmeier said in his laudatory speech that the lawyer made outstanding contributions to the historical investigation of the crimes of the Nazi judiciary in Austria.
It is important to remember how National Socialism systematically destroyed the constitutional state. “The murderer’s dagger was hidden under the judge’s robe,” Steinmeier quoted from the files of the Nuremberg trials against leading representatives of the Nazi state from the end of 1945 to 1949. On Forsthuber’s initiative, a memorial in memory of all victims of the Nazi justice system was erected in front of the Vienna Regional Court for Criminal Matters and unveiled in 2015.
The EU is also a big topic
Van der Bellen welcomed Steinmeier with all honors on Tuesday. The two presidents also pointed out the need for cooperation at the European level on Tuesday. At a joint press conference in Vienna, the two heads of state declared that Europe was at a “crucial milestone” in areas such as “economic development, migration, skills shortages, climate protection and security”. But such questions can only be solved together.
Austria and Germany would continue to work for peace, prosperity and sustainable development in the EU, said Van der Bellen and Steinmeier. Van der Bellen admitted that the European Union needs to rethink its structures in order to speed up internal processes. In the future, it must be avoided that individual countries within the EU can simply block decisions that have been made with a large majority.
“Put the Federal Army on a modern footing”
Van der Bellen and Steinmeier agreed that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine had “caused the collapse of the European security architecture.” “We have to prepare for this in terms of security policy. That means significantly strengthening ourselves militarily,” said Steinmeier.
Van der Bellen recalled that one of the points of the Austrian Neutrality Constitution Act states that Austria must defend itself. The head of state joked that this had so far been interpreted in a “very Austrian way”.
However, Austria is “simply a member of the European Union”, has taken part in all sanctions against Russia and will continue to do so “loyally”, said Van der Bellen. The Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022 is certainly an additional argument for “putting the federal army on modern footing”.
Middle East: Special Responsibility
With regard to the Middle East conflict, the Federal President emphasized that “Austria and Germany have a special responsibility to bear for historical reasons” and would therefore “emphasize Israel’s right to defend itself perhaps more clearly than others”. Both countries would therefore take an “energetic and convincing stand against any form of anti-Semitism”. On the other hand, the fight against terror should not be waged without rules, emphasized Van der Bellen.
The highest form of diplomatic appreciation
A state visit is the highest form of diplomatic appreciation between two states, which is reserved exclusively for the respective heads of state. The last state visit by a German Federal President took place in 1997, making it 28 years ago. At the time, Roman Herzog stayed in Austria for three days at the invitation of Thomas Klestil. The main topic at that time was the upcoming EU expansion to the East. Both former heads of state have now died.
In July 2017, German President Steinmeier made an “official working visit” to Vienna just a few months after taking office. He had previously made official visits to Austria several times, but in other capacities, such as foreign minister.
