The United States of America in Austria | American Expats in Vienna

Austria and the U.S. - Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, investment, diplomacy, culture and tourism

Elisabeth Gürtler Receives United States Friendship Award

Austrian entrepreneur Elisabeth Gürtler-Mauthner (69) received the Cultural Icon Award in acknowledgement of her achievements and long friendship with the United States of America from US Ambassador Trevor Traina.

June 20, 2019

40 Years of the UN in Vienna - The Tireless Commitment of António Guterres

UN Secretary General António Guterres completed a busy programme when he came to Vienna for the 40th anniversary celebrations and the R20 Austria World Summit. The VIC Vienna International Centre is the place where, with the help of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the 193 member states, 15 Vienna-based UN organisations and more than 5000 people from 125 countries from around the world are bound together.

May 31, 2019

Diplomats for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia 2019

More and more embassies, delegations and permanent representations to international organisations supported this day (IDAHOBIT), that raises awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide, as well as EuroPride 2019 in Vienna.

May 29, 2019

Amerika Haus: Rushan Abbas About Concentration Camps in Xinjiang, China

Rushan Abbas, a Uighur American whose family members have been detained in China, spoke at the Amerika Haus Wien about various human rights violations against Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang province. In her presentation "China’s Concentration Camps in a Muted World" she pointed out, that far West China’s Uyghur people, a minority Muslim group, face a high-tech police state, cultural genocide, and mass detainment in modern concentration camps.

May 29, 2019

ALPS 2019: How Diplomacy and Commerce Fit Together

As part of the 11th ALPS round in May 2019, 21 international company and start-up founders from 13 non-EU countries had the opportunity to make contact with Austrian decision-makers, explore ways of working together and develop new ideas.

May 16, 2019

The Ambassadors of the Four Allied Powers in the Austrian Federal Chancellery

On the occasion of the "Liberation" Day of Austria from National Socialism by the Allies in 1945 and the end of the Second World War (Victory in Europe Day), Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz received the four ambassadors of the USA (Trevor Traina), Great Britain (Leigh Turner), France (representative of Francois Marcel Michel Saint-Paul) and Russia (Dmitrij Ljubinskij) at the Federal Chancellery.

May 13, 2019

Commemoration Ceremony at the Mauthausen Concentration Camp

Memorial Day against Violence and Racism for the Victims of National Socialism and Liberation of the Mauthausen Concentration Camp on 5 May 1945, where 100,000 people were murdered.

May 6, 2019

Meet the Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Austria: Ms. Robin Dunnigan

Robin Dunnigan assumed the duties of Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Austria in July 2018.

May 2, 2019

WeWork Cooperation to Facilitate Internationalization of Austrian Start-ups in the USA

The aim of the cooperation between shared workspace provider WeWork and AWS - Austria Wirtschaftsservice is to support innovative Austrian start-ups in their internationalisation in New York and on the US market.

April 26, 2019

Vienna Stock Exchange - More US Stocks on Offer

The global market segment of the Vienna Stock Exchange will be expanded with listings of primarily US companies but also stocks from Europe.

April 26, 2019

Vienna's Jewish Square and Europe

The US historian Timothy Snyder will give a lecture on the topic "Judenplatz 1010 - A speech to Europe 2019". The place and time chosen for the lecture are no coincidence: European history is presented at Vienna’s Judenplatz like in no other place.

April 18, 2019

McDonald's Austria: Record Year for System Catering Market Leader

With an increase of 52 million euros (+ 8%), the Austrian subsidiary of the US system gastronomy market leader McDonald's achieved sales of 674 million euros in 2018.

April 9, 2019

Leaders Discuss Azerbaijani-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict in Vienna

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan met in Vienna for the first time under the auspices of the Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group to discuss the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The two heads of state also met with Austrian President Van der Bellen and Austrian Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

April 5, 2019

International Financial Institutions World Bank Group and IMF Expand Presence in Austria

Important success for Austria's business location policy. According to media reports, the IMF International Monetary Fund will move to Vienna in June, while the World Bank Group will double the staff and size of its Vienna office.

March 29, 2019

Austria's Most Important Trading Partners - Ranking of the Top-20

Although the United States is only the second largest Austrian export partner after Germany, in 2018 exports exceeded the ten billion euro mark for the first time, growing by +9.7%. Imports, on the other hand, were only about half as high. Of the top 20 import partners, all, with the exception of Switzerland, showed a positive development. Imports from Russia, the UK, Slovakia, Poland and Slovenia recorded double-digit growth.

March 29, 2019

Great American Artist Mark Rothko in Vienna

Mark Rothko (1903–1970) was among the most remarkable artists (abstract expressionist) of the twentieth century. This exhibition, the first ever to be mounted in Austria, presents a survey of Rothko’s career through more than forty major paintings to explore ideas of the sacred, the spiritual, the tragic and the timeless.

March 22, 2019

Is Benko's Chrysler Deal in the Big Apple a Bargain?

The New York property firm RFR Holding LLC of German-American Aby J. Rosen, together with Signa Holding of Tyrolean real estate investor Rene Benko, is buying the traditional Chrysler Building in New York City for around 150 million dollars. The land is not part of the deal and the rent amounted to USD 32.5 million in 2018 and will continue to rise to USD 41 million a year by 2028.

March 11, 2019

Burger King Austria Acquires Rosenberger Motorway Restaurants

The Austrian franchisee TQSR of the US fast food chain Burger King has purchased 100% of the shares in Rosenberger Restaurant GmbH, which is currently undergoing restructuring, and is financing the 20% quota offered to creditors in the restructuring plan. The transaction value for the 14 Rosenberger Restaurant locations, including the net financial liabilities assumed, amounts to approximately EUR 9 million.

February 27, 2019

Huawei Austria Sponsors Austrian Chinese Business Association

The Chinese technology group Huawei and the ACBA Austrian Chinese Business Association have sealed their cooperation at an evening event entitled "Huawei - Inside & Outside" at the Grand Hotel Vienna. Huawei is disputed internationally because of its 5G wireless network technology and its close connection to the Chinese government. Huawei maintains good business relations with the largest carriers in Austria, A1 Telekom Austria (America Movil), Hutchison Whampoa (Drei Austria) and T-Mobile Austria and supplies them with expensive 5G network equipment. In addition, Huawei will open its first flagship store outside China in downtown Vienna in the summer of 2019.

February 27, 2019

Chancellor Kurz in Washington, D.C. - Trump Demands Higher Military Expenditures

US President Donald Trump and Chancellor Sebastian Kurz met in the White House for a working meeting. The trade relations, the demand for higher military expenditures for Austria, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and the Serbia-Kosovo conflict were addressed.

February 21, 2019

Fight Against Anti-Semitism - The Jewish Community in NYC and Austria

As part of his trip to the USA, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz met David Harris, Executive Director of the AJC American Jewish Committee, and once again Holocaust survivor Rabbi Arthur Schneier.

February 21, 2019

Meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - Focus on Middle East Conflict

The meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Austrian Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz focused on the Middle East conflict. According to Kurz, the USA is currently working on "a solution to the situation in the Middle East". The US will therefore "probably present a proposal" before the end of this year.

February 21, 2019

USA Visit by Federal Chancellor Kurz - Focus on Economic Relations

Chancellor Sebastian Kurz travels to the USA on an official working visit. During the trip, Kurz will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, Ivanka Trump, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. The one-on-one meeting with Donald Trump in Washington will last only about 15 minutes.

February 19, 2019

Trump's Top Diplomat in Charge of European Affairs at the State Department Visits Vienna

Aaron Wess Mitchell, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, who is only in office for a few more days, met the Austrian Foreign Minister for a working breakfast in Vienna. Afterwards they visited Clemens Metternich's former office together with US Ambassador Trevor Traina and his wife.

February 11, 2019

The End of the INF Treaty - Europe Could Become a Nuclear War Zone

In an interview with the APA - Austria Press Agency the political scientist and disarmament expert Heinz Gärtner recently stated that the background of the US termination of the INF Treaty on the Prohibition of Medium-Range Nuclear Weapons might be the expansion of the deterrence potential and that Europe could thus become the target area of a nuclear conflict. At a panel discussion organized by the International Institute for Peace (IIP) on 11 February 2019, Heinz Gärtner, together with representatives of the United States and the Russian Federation, will examine the background of this issue.

February 5, 2019

United Nations - Dr. Alexander Marschik Appointed New Austrian Ambassador to the UN Headquarters in NYC

In the context of an extensive replacement of ambassadors in the Foreign Ministry, Dr. Alexander Marschik was entrusted with the direction of the Austrian Mission to the United Nations in New York City. As a diplomat with 4 years of professional experience in New York, it is a return to familiar parquet.

January 24, 2019

Hollywood in Austria's Mountains - Avalanche Drama Film Follows Current Avalanche Danger

In Tyrol, a Hollywood drama about a married couple whose perfectly believed family life gets completely out of balance when they barely escape an avalanche is currently in the making. Austrian film funding supports the production of "Downhill" with Will Farell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. With a shooting time of 8 weeks, an added value of 7 million Euros and 10,000 overnight stays is expected.

January 18, 2019

New Appointments of Austrian Diplomatic Posts Abroad

At its meeting of 25 April 2018, the Austrian Council of Ministers decided to entrust the following Foreign Ministry officials with the direction of Austrian Missions.

April 25, 2018 · Updated: January 11, 2019; 17:15

US Filmmaker Wes Anderson and Juman Malouf Go Wild as Guest Curators at the Vienna Museum of Fine Arts

The American director Wes Anderson, known from films such as "The Grand Budapest Hotel" or most recently "Isle of Dogs", and his partner, the writer and costume designer Juman Malouf, were invited by the Vienna Museum of Fine Arts (KHM - Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien) to design an exhibition according to their taste. The result is an exhibition entitled "Spitzmaus Mummy in a Coffin and Other Treasures".

January 10, 2019

New Austrian Foreign Trade Strategy: Growth, Jobs, Prosperity

In a joint event in the Aula of Sciences, the Federal Government's new foreign trade strategy was presented by Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck, Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl and President of the Chamber of Commerce Harald Mahrer. The key points of the strategy are the following: Perspective, value orientation, location effect, focal points, future orientation, communication, efficient coordination.

December 20, 2018

Ed Ruscha at the Vienna Secession - "Double Americanisms"

American artist associated with the pop art movement, Edward Joseph Ruscha had a decisive influence on the development of art in the USA from the 1950s onwards and with it on the current understanding of contemporary art. The exhibition at the Vienna Secession shows fifty-seven of his works. It marks the public debut of a new series of linguistic paintings. Used parchment drumheads are inscribed with locutions whose shared feature is the use of a double negation - "I Ain't Telling You No Lie," for example, and "I Can't Find My Keys Nowhere."

December 17, 2018

American Christmas Gospel in the Viennese Karlskirche

What would the Advent season be without music? Until Christmas there is still the possibility to enjoy a special listening pleasure. In the Karlskirche, gospel music is performed that is otherwise only celebrated in masses in the USA. The feeling of Harlem, St. Louis and Jersey fascinates every spectator and is a musical feast for the ears, which, in addition to the smell of gingerbread and the pleasure of punch, creates a Christmas mood of a special kind.

December 14, 2018 · Sponsored Content

Three Americans in Vienna: Model - Arbus - Goldin

Three great American photographers, Lisette Model, Diane Arbus and Nan Goldin whose images radically expanded contemporary perspectives on society, are the theme of an exhibition at the Galerie Westlicht.

December 14, 2018

Leonard Bernstein - "I am enjoying Vienna enormously - as much as a Jew can"

An exhibition in the Jewish Museum Vienna to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the star conductor and composer Leonard Bernstein focuses on the New Yorker’s relationship with the music city of Vienna, looks at the great artist’s Jewish roots, and also pays homage to his political activities.

December 14, 2018

Soros University Leaves Budapest in Favor of Vienna

In Hungary, the Central European University (CEU) has faced massive hostility. As a consequence, the location will be relocated to Vienna. Michael Ignatieff, the rector of CEU, announced this week in Budapest that the university is finally moving: "This is a dark day for freedom in Hungary, and it's a dark day for academic freedom." In Vienna, negotiations are still underway on a suitable building for interim use from 2019. By 2023, the university is to move permanently to the grounds of the Otto Wagner Hospital.

December 6, 2018

American International School Vienna: "The United Nations is rather similar to the AIS"

Students and nursery-school children came together at the AIS American International School for the celebration of the UN Day.

November 15, 2018

Reception for Holocaust Survivors in the Austrian Parliament: "Never again!"

Rabbi Arthur Schneier from New York, speaking at the reception for Holocaust survivors in parliament, called for a common commitment to "Never again" and to live together in peace and mutual respect.

November 9, 2018

Meet the New USA Ambassador to the International Organizations in Vienna (United Nations, IAEA, CTBTO) - Jackie Wolcott

Jackie Wolcott, of Virginia, is the new Representative of the United States to the Vienna Office of the United Nations, the new Representative of the United States of America to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the new Representative of the United States of America to the CTBTO Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, with the Rank of Ambassador.

November 2, 2018 · Updated: November 7, 2018; 13:00

The United States after the Midterms - What's next?

Shortly after the midterm elections, a panel discussion with prominent guests will take place at Vienna's International Institute for Peace (IIP), analysing the election results and discussing their significance.

November 5, 2018

Setback for the UN - Austria Won't Sign Global Migration Pact

Austria will follow the US and Hungary in backing out of a United Nations pact on migration (Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration) over concerns that it will blur the line between illegal and legal migration.

October 31, 2018

Ambassador Traina on Trade-War: "Donald Trump is Europe's Greatest Hope"

In an interview with the trend-magazine the US ambassador in Vienna, Trevor Traina, warns of the Chinese, and that the theft of intellectual property could also happen to Europe's key industries. Donald Trump's unpredictability is therefore "Europe's greatest hope" to avert such a scenario in time.

October 19, 2018

Nuclear Controversy: Iran Seeking Austria's Support

Austria's EU Presidency, the future of the nuclear agreement and the desire to strengthen bilateral economic and cultural exchange were the focus of a visit by Iranian parliamentarians to the Austrian Parliament.

September 25, 2018

Timothy Snyder Opens 3rd Vienna Humanities Festival "Power & Powerlessness"

From 27 to 30 September, the third Vienna Humanities Festival will once again bring together leading figures from science, art and culture in an "urban salon" lasting several days. Around 40 events will be held themed "Power & Powerlessness" to discuss the major issues of our time.

September 14, 2018

Review of the State Visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Austria

After the visit in March 2016, which was cancelled at short notice, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was on a state visit to Vienna this week, accompanied by massive anti-Iran protests. The aim of the visit was a joint commitment to the Iran nuclear deal after the deal was approved in Vienna three years ago. The visit was overshadowed by a diplomatic case involving an employee of the Iranian embassy in Vienna, who had been arrested last weekend by the German judicial authorities on the basis of a European arrest warrant on suspicion of terrorism.

July 5, 2018

Trevor Traina Accredited as New US Ambassador in Vienna

The new US Ambassador to Austria Trevor Traina presented President Alexander Van der Bellen with his letter of accreditation at the Vienna Hofburg.

May 25, 2018

US Ambassador Traina Arrives in Vienna: "Austria is one of America's first friends"

The new US Ambassador to Austria, Trevor Traina, grandson of Wiley T. Buchanan, the former US Ambassador to Vienna (1975 - 1977), has arrived in Vienna with his wife Alexis. In his first statement, he underlined the close bilateral relations between the two countries: "Austria was one of America's first friends and we are here to remind everyone how important that relationship still is today - over 180 years later."

May 19, 2018

US Termination of the Iran Agreement: Major Effects on Austrian Exports Expected

The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber fears that the Trump decision will have a massive negative impact on the Iran business of Austrian companies. It will probably be extraordinarily difficult in the future to establish the necessary payment channels for legitimate transactions.

May 17, 2018

Soros Foundations Relocate from Budapest to Berlin

The first Open Society Foundations, founded in Hungary in 1984 by George Soros, also of Hungarian origin, with a founding budget of US$3 million, is now actually withdrawing to Berlin.

May 15, 2018

Iran-Deal - Austrian Oberbank Distances Itself from Framework Credit Agreement with Tehran

Only last year, the Upper Austrian Oberbank was the first European bank to sign a framework credit agreement with Iran. After the USA's withdrawal from the nuclear treaty, the bank is now under pressure and intends to wait and see. The bank says it could certainly take two weeks for a final solution to be found and officially agreed.

May 11, 2018

Vienna's Attractiveness as a Location for Business Continues to Grow

For the sixth year in a row, Vienna recorded the highest number of companies settling in the city. After Vienna had already achieved a record figure in the previous year with 178 international new additions, this was again exceeded last year with 191 new companies, which is an increase of 13%. These business establishments together are responsible for investments totalling €537 million and 1,087 new jobs. There are 344 new foreign invested businesses throughout Austria. German companies remain the number one investors in Austria.

April 30, 2018