Austria is ready to participate in the embargo of oil from Russia if the relevant decision is made by the European Commission, said Minister of Climate, Environment and Energy of the country Leonore Gewessler.
“So far there is no proposal from the European Commission, but Austria is ready to consistently participate in the oil embargo if the commission and the participating countries are ready to introduce it.
According to her, Austria is prepared for this. Previously, about 10% of Austria’s oil imports came from Russia. Recently, active work has been carried out to reduce this share, and in March there was no purchase of Russian oil. But the situation in different EU countries is different, she noted.
Austria will help alleviate the humanitarian suffering of the Ukrainian people and end the war, said Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who is visiting Ukraine.
“Thank you for the open and honest conversation and the warm welcome in Kyiv, Volodymyr Zelensky. Austria knows what the Ukrainian people are going through right now. We will help in any way we can to alleviate humanitarian suffering and end this war,” Nehammer tweeted on Saturday.
The Austrian authorities have decided to recognize “persona non grata” of four Russian diplomats, they must leave Austrian territory no later than April 12, the Oe24.tv portal reported on Thursday.
“The Austrian Foreign Ministry announced an order to deprive the diplomatic status of three employees of the Russian Embassy in Vienna and one employee of the Consulate General in Salzburg,” the portal notes.
According to the Austrian side, these diplomatic staff were engaged in activities incompatible with their diplomatic status, the portal notes.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg and Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korčok will together visit Ukraine on February 7-8 on the invitation of their Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
The first ever visit by the foreign ministers of the Slavkov or Austerlitz format to Kyiv is to demonstrate solidarity with Ukraine, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry’s press service said in a statement.
Kuleba and his Czech, Slovak and Austrian counterparts will hold talks with key agenda items such as “further support for Ukraine in countering Russian aggression, the implementation of a comprehensive containment package for the Russian Federation, strengthening security cooperation, supporting the economic and financial stability of our state,” it said.
The Slavkov format ministers are also planning to visit the zone of Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation to familiarize themselves with the current situation, Kyiv said.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg plans to visit Ukraine on February 7-8 to show a “clear signal of support,” OE24 has reported.
“In the midst of the aggravation of the Ukrainian crisis, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) wants to visit the Eastern European country in early February (February 7-8),” the OE24 article says.
It is indicated that Schallenberg said this on Thursday at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brest, France. The Austrian Foreign Minister plans to pay a visit together with his colleagues from Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
“Yes to dialogue, but certainly not the threat of tanks and missiles changing borders in the 21st century,” Schallenberg said, adding that Austria has always “taken a clear position” on Ukraine.
The Austrian-based Head Group has received permission from the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Planning of Ukraine to start the construction of the Head Vinnytsia plant on the territory of the Winter Sport industrial park, Andriy Ocheretny, the deputy mayor of Vinnytsia, said on Facebook.
“The completion of construction of the plant and commissioning of production facilities is scheduled for December 2022. The company plans to invest about EUR80 million in the creation of production, administrative and storage facilities,” he said.
The deputy mayor clarified that since May 12, 2021, preparatory work on the land plot continued at the site: more than 100,000 cubic meters of fertile soil layer were removed, reinforced concrete supports were installed for laying a cable power line, temporary connection networks from the substation were installed.
According to the project, the building of the plant will consist of production and storage facilities, an administrative building, a sewing workshop. The production building will house workshops for the manufacture of skis, boots and bindings, as well as warehouses for raw materials and finished products.
The total area of production premises after the commissioning of the enterprise in 2023 will be 43,000 square meters.
Ocheretny noted that, as expected, this plant will be one of the largest Head Group plants in the world and will provide jobs for more than 1,200 residents of Vinnytsia.
As reported, the total area of the Winter Sport industrial park is 25 hectares. The start of construction of the plant took place in May 2021.
Head International Holding GmbH manufactures sports equipment for winter sports, tennis and scuba diving. The company’s production facilities are located in Austria, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, China. The company is present in 85 countries around the world.
