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Press Statement Released by the Department of the Treasury, June 7, 2000

Treasury Deputy Secretary Stuart E. Eizenstat met with Ambassdor Hans Winkler, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Legal Adviser and the head of the Austrian delegation at the June 7 meetings, to discuss the Austria Fund for slave and forced laborers. Deputy Secretary Eizenstat stated that we made excellent progress today in our meeting with the Austrian delegation and in a separate meeting with the plaintiffs' attorneys.

Ambassador Winkler described the legislative process for the draft law establishing the Austria Fund and the recent revisions to the draft law.

"I am pleased to announce that the U.S. Government is satisfied that the changes to the Austrian law creating the Austrian Reconciliation Fund take into account our concerns," Deputy Secretary Eizenstat said. "It is important that the draft law continue to be open to further amendments to ensure that it is also satisfactory to the plaintiffs' attorneys."

Ambassador Winkler noted that the draft law has support from the four parties in the Austrian parliament. The Constitutional Committee of parliament would mark up the law on June 21, and the Government hopes that the law would be adopted in July. Deputy Secretary Eizenstat commended the professionalism of Dr. Maria Schaumayer, Austria's special envoy for forced and slave labor issues, and Ambassador Winkler for their approach. They have been particularly sensitive to the legal closure issue. The Austrian and U.S. delegations met with the plaintiffs' attorneys, including legal representatives of the Claims Conference and the Austrian Jewish community, as well as with the attorneys for the Austrian companies.

The participants addressed the overall capitalization of the fund at 6 billion schillings, which, in light of the discussion of the number of victims, the United States considered a reasonable amount. The Austrian delegation provided data to reassure that the planned 6 billion schilling ($400 million) capitalization of the fund would be adequate. The plaintiffs' attorneys are now considering this amount.

Executive Agreement and Statement of Interest

Given this progress on the Austria Fund legislation, and the bilateral discussion on legal closure, Austria requested that the U.S. begin preparation of an Executive Agreement and the Elements of a Statement of Interest to achieve legal peace for Austrian companies. The United States agreed to seek authority to negotiate and conclude an Executive Agreement.

Property

In Deputy Secretary Eizenstat's bilateral meeting with the Austrian delegation, he stressed that we regard progress on property restitution as a matter of priority for the United States. We welcome the recent appointment by the Austrian government of Ambassador Sucharipa as special envoy for property restitution issues.

Ambassador Winkler reported that Ambassador Sucharipa has already begun work on property restitution issues, and Deputy Secretary Eizenstat noted that he plans to meet with Ambassador Sucharipa on June 19 in Washington. Ambassador Winkler indicated that Ambassador Sucharipa would also meet with the plaintiffs' attorneys on property restitution. He added that we could expect an interim report by the Austrian Historians' Commission by October.

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