Gertrude Enderle-Burcel, Dieter Stiefel, Alice Teichova (Hrsg.): Sonderband 9. „Zarte Bande” – Österreich und die europäischen planwirtschaftlichen Länder / „Delicate Relationships” – Austria and Europe’s Planned Economies (2006)
Eduard Kubů: Restoration and Régularisation of Economie Cooperation under the Circumstances of Accelerating Cold War
Eduard Kubù trade agreement. This stop sign took on the form of a collapse of the Austrian economy. On October 27, transport by passenger trains was stopped as a result of lack of coal and railway transport was only being ensured to a limited extent by several trains supplied with coal by the allied armies. In Vienna, the supply of electric power was limited only to vital enterprises and it was cut off for minor consumers in the period from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.22 The opening of compensation accounts in the Austrian National Bank in Vienna and the Czechoslovak National Bank in Prague proved to be a progress in the trade exchange.23 Although in 1946 Czechoslovakia was the biggest trade partner of Austria and it accounted for 43.6 percent of Austrian imports and for 41.3 percent of Austrian exports in the first half of this year, the trade between the two countries continued without any agreement being in place (the term of the agreement of 15 December 1945 was only six months). The continued lack of suitable Austrian export articles was an obstacle to negotiations and to further, an even more intensive, development of relations.24 In December, another of the Austrian economic Ministers visited Prague. This time, it was Karl Altmann, the Minister for Energy (Energiewirtschaft), who spoke about the problems plaguing Austria, specifically about the generation of electric power and primarily about deliveries of coal. The result of his trip was a promise that negotiations about this issue would soon be held.25 In Prague, the second series of preparatory meetings for the economic talks with Austria was started. On January 9, 1947, at the interministerial meeting held with the participation of the presidium of the government and 14 ministries, it was decided that with regard to future interallied negotiations about a state agreement with Austria, Czechoslovakia would not request any war indemnity from Austria or any preferential treatment clause but would request protection of goods against unfair competition and continued validity of the old factory marks or trade marks from pre-war times.26 Winter worsened the energy problems of Austria; in January 1947, the deliveries of electric power and gas to industrial enterprises were limited in the same way as the deliveries to private consumers. A large deal between Czechoslovakia and Austria, in which Czechoslovakia was to deliver 400,000 tons of coal in exchange for three blast furnaces of the Linz ironworks (Vereinigte Eisen- und Stahlwerke in record concerning export and import demands for economic negotiations with Austria, dated October 30], AM FA, PR, Rakousko — 1946 [Austria 1946], Economic report dated October 31. NAP, MFT, TD, Rakousko 1945-1952 [Austria 1945-1952], letter of Narodni banka Ceskoslovenskâ [Czechoslovak National Bank] to MFT dated November 8, 1946. AM FA, PR, Rakousko - 1946 [Austria 1946], Economic report for the fourth quarter 1946 dated January 16, 1947. NAP, MFA - APC, box 41 1, Österreichische Volksstimme 5.12.1946, article „Günstige Ergebnisse der Reise Dr. Altmanns. Prag zur Zusammenarbeit bereit“. NAP, MFT, TD, Rakousko 1945-1952 [Austria 1945-1952], record dated January 10,1947, no. 3959/47. 204
