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)
Žarko Lazarević /Jože Prinčič: Slovene-Austrian Economic Relations, 1945-1991 (A View from Slovenia)
Slovene-Austrian Economic Relations, 1945-1991 economic relations, but reproached it for painting an overly positive picture of relations with Yugoslavia without the necessary commitment to realise all the signed arrangements.10 11 They criticised mostly Austrian indifference and inaction in reducing the Yugoslav trade and balance of payment deficit, since high-ranking Austrian politicians were very generous only with promises made during bilateral meetings. The Yugoslav side was also not happy with the Austrian approach to developing so-called “higher forms” of economic cooperation, especially with regard to the establishment of joint ventures. Yugoslavia encouraged and supported the establishment of joint ventures in Austria, but Austria did not show any interest in investing in Yugoslavia and was in fact inhibiting efforts to establish joint ventures in Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia was affected by Austria delaying and refusing to sign the agreement on border region economic cooperation. Yugoslavia was also not happy with the results of the joint presence of Yugoslav and Austrian companies in other markets. Austrians “assumed” that they should do the fitting of new factories with machines and equipment, while Yugoslav companies were left to do the building and other lower paid work. Yugoslavia also held the opinion that the improvement of border road connections was not possible due to Austrian disapproval. The Yugoslav view was that there were many reasons why Austria did not encourage stronger economic relations and was “closing in” behind the Karavanke Mountains. The most important ones were ideological or “conceptual obstacles”, a conviction that stronger cooperation would benefit only the Yugoslav side," the opposition of regional governments and political parties in Carinthia and Styria and the demands of Austrian companies for restrictions on Yugoslav imports. Austria was, after Italy, Yugoslavia's second most important trading partner. Yugoslav authorities held the opinion that Austria regarded Yugoslavia mostly as a market for its manufactured goods and was not interested in buying Yugoslav products. It was supposed to be prejudiced against high-quality products from Yugoslavia (and from other socialist countries) and therefore did not allow products from Yugoslavia to appear on the Austrian market at competitive prices (equivalent prices for equivalent products made in Austria). This led to a decreased share of Yugoslav exports to Austria in total Yugoslav exports, as well as a decrease in the share of Austrian imports from Yugoslavia in its overall imports.12 In the 1960s and 1970s, Austria favoured strengthening of trade with Yugoslavia, cooperation in the field of energy production, industrial cooperation, transit and traffic cooperation and had no hesitation in founding joint ventures. Faced with recession in the 1970s, Austria initiated also a joint presence in other markets. Austrian political relations with Yugoslavia changed in the 1980s. Austria still helped Yugoslavia with loans to tackle its economic difficulties and supported u Arhiv Republike Slovenije (ARS), 223, cadastre no.: 5 041. 11 Dvostranske moZnosti za äiräe gospodarske stike. In: Delo, 24.2.1976. 12 Sima: Die jugoslawischen Betriebsansiedlungen in Kärnten, p. 4. 239
