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)
Zarko Lazarevic/Jo2e PrinCiê to the Slovene economy and consumer goods to the population. In the 1960s, Slovene authorities (the government, chamber of commerce and others) started to encourage companies to increase trade with Austria. The response was fastest in the field of metallurgy, mechanical engineering, food industry, textiles, chemicals and leather industry. The initial enthusiasm soon waned due to the serious obstacles of compliance with Austrian duty, taxation and other requirements. In the trade agreement of 1967, Austria agreed to the release of Yugoslav imports, but in practice it did not apply it to all products and so it hampered Slovenian efforts. The agreed-upon list did not include many Slovenian products, although they complied with all the standards. In the 1970s the Slovene government devoted a lot of its time and efforts to preparations for signing an agreement on economic cooperation in the border region. The efforts were in line with need for a better-organised and efficient policy for direct economic assistance to the Slovene minority in Austria, to enable its survival. Slovenia supported the national community in many ways before, but had done very little to encourage economic cooperation between Slovenians on both sides of the border. The fact that Yugoslav policy towards Slovenians abroad existed only in political documents was just one reason for that. The initiative for direct assistance came from the Slovene minority in Austria, which expected financial assistance from Slovenia, and direct involvement in economic activities between the countries.23 Economic assistance to the minority became an important political task, especially border region economic cooperation. The awareness of the importance of relations with Austria for the Slovene economy remained and strengthened in the 1980s. In 1982, the Slovene government approved a demanding and comprehensive programme of activities needed to broaden trade and other exchanges with Austria.24 The relationship with the regional government of Carinthia, which Slovenia considered the strongest opposition to interstate economic cooperation, improved and strengthened. The substantial part of efforts to increase Slovenia's presence in the Austrian market fell upon the Slovene Chamber of Commerce. In 1983, it started the project of “reforming the relationship with the neighbours”,25 with the primary aim of improving credit ratings and other conditions for better running of joint ventures and encouraging domestic companies to enter the Austrian market. The ambitiously drafted project was not executed because of the tense political circumstances in Yugoslavia and deepening economic crisis. Shortly before the collapse of the second Yugoslav state, the Slovene government was trying hard to convince Austria to improve economic cooperation. The June 1991 war and the announcement of Slovene independence influenced mutual economic relations. 23 Sreianje ob celoväkem lesnem sejmu. In: Delo, 26.8.1976. 24 ARS, 223-5620. 25 ARS, 1 165-1839. 242
