LOT Airlines Serves “Russian Dumplings” Rather Than Polish Or Ukrainian. Culinary Statement Entangles Austria, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, And UK. Political Message From Austria-Based DO & CO?
A Culinary Political Statement Entangles Austria, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, And United Kingdom
Politically Incorrect? LOT Polish Airlines Flight From LHR To WAW Serves In Business Class “Russian Dumplings With Onions And Chives”
Influence Of Vienna, Austria-Based DO & CO Catering Company?
When Is A Dumpling Just A Dumpling?
The government of Republic of Poland has no peer in terms of the impact by the Russian Federation-Ukraine war upon its commercial, economic, financial, humanitarian, military, political, refugee, and social infrastructures.
Due to its substantial border with Ukraine and its pre-war status as a transit route for goods from Ukraine into the Poland marketplace and then onward into some of the twenty-seven members of the Brussels, Belgium-based European Union (EU) and beyond the borders of the EU, citizens of Poland have developed sensitivities about anything of Russian origin.
Which makes the dumpling origin decision by Warsaw, Poland-based LOT Polish Airlines (Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A.) with 2023 revenue of approximately US$2 billion, more surprising.
There are Polish Dumplings. There are Ukrainian Dumplings. There are Chinese Dumplings. And, yes, there are Russian Dumplings.
Could the presence of the Russian Dumplings on the menu of LOT Polish Airlines be a culinary political statement by management of Vienna, Austria-based DO & CO Aktiengesellschaft (2023 revenue approximately US$1.6 billion)?
DO & CO Aktiengesellschaft “is active in segments such as airline catering, train catering, and international events catering. The company also provides services through its restaurants, bars, lounges, and hotels. As a listed Austrian company with the three business segments of Airline Catering, International Event Catering, and Restaurants, Lounges & Hotel, we offer Gourmet Entertainment all over the world. We operate 32 locations in 12 countries on 3 continents, maintaining the highest standard of quality in both our products and services. We refine the classics, develop the unknown and grow constantly – sometimes beyond our own expectations. The most important ingredient in our premium recipe is our staff, each and every one of whom has a strong personality and a passion for hospitality.”
Customers Include: Air Canada / Air China / Air France / Air India / Air Italy / Air Malta / Asiana Airlines / Austrian Airlines / British Airways / Cathay Pacific / China Airlines / China Southern / Egypt Air / Emirates / Etihad Airways / Ethiopian Airlines / Eurowings / EVA Air / Gulf Air / Hainan Airlines / Iberia / JetBlue / KLM Royal Dutch Airlines / Korean Air / Kuwait Airways / LOT Polish Airlines / Lufthansa / Middle East Airlines / Oman Air / Pegasus Airlines / Qatar Airways / Royal Jordanian / SAS Scandinavian Airlines / Saudia / Singapore Airlines / South African Airways / SWISS / TAP Air Portugal / Thai Airways / Turkish Airlines / Ukraine International Airlines / Windrose…”
Yes, Ukraine International Airlines is listed as a customer of DO & CO Aktiengesellschaft.
Since 24 February 2022, the government of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) has continually increased commercial, economic, financial, military, and political sanctions upon the government of the Russian Federation, Russian Federation-based companies, and individuals subject to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. Thus far, culinary sanctions have not extended to management of Heathrow Airport (LHR).
The government of the Republic of Austria has not embraced fulsomely commercial, economic, military, and political sanctions implemented collectively by the EU against the government of the Russian Federation, Russian Federation-based companies, and individuals subject to the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.
Vienna, Austral-based Raiffeisen Bank International (2023 assets approximately US$215.7 billion) continues to operate in the Russian Federation and Vienna, Austria-based OMV Group (2023 revenue approximately US$48.3 billion) purchases natural gas from the Russian Federation, both much to the very public annoyance of the government of Ukraine.
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Reuters (15 February 2024)- Ukraine has refused to remove Raiffeisen Bank International, from a "sponsors of war" blacklist, challenging the biggest Western bank in Russia to sever its ties to Moscow. In a letter sent to Raiffeisen earlier this month, which was seen by Reuters, Ukrainian officials questioned what the bank was doing to leave Russia, saying much of its plans were vague and incomplete.
The correspondence ratchets up pressure on one of Austria's largest banks and adds to tensions between Kyiv and Austria, whose political leaders are also lobbying to have Raiffeisen taken off the list, having earlier secured a temporary suspension. "A number of blind spots still remain," the Ukraine officials wrote in the letter, saying this prevented the bank's removal from the list. "The sale timeline is missing ... it remains unclear when, if at all, a spin-off scenario might come into action," the Ukraine officials said in the letter. Raiffeisen had intended to spin off its Russian business last year but this has yet to happen. A Raiffeisen spokesperson said the bank could not give a timeframe for leaving Russia because this depended on the approval of regulators.
The blacklist has no legal standing, but it is symbolically important and has embarrassed Raiffeisen and angered Austrian politicians and officials. The Ukrainian officials also flagged their concern in the letter over Raiffeisen's loan relief schemes for Russian soldiers, support the bank has said is legally mandatory in Russia. In December, Austrian politicians succeeded in getting the bank suspended from the blacklist, temporarily withholding support for new European Union sanctions on Russia to win this concession. Austria publicly supports Ukraine, but several sources familiar with government thinking have said they are reluctant to completely sever decades-old ties with Russia, hoping it may be possible to restore relations at some stage. Austrian government officials believe Raiffeisen has been unfairly singled out. Other banks, such as Italy's UniCredit remains active in Russia, does not appear on the list.
Last October, Austria's foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, openly criticised the blacklist as arbitrary at a meeting of European ministers in Kyiv, one person briefed on those discussions said at the time. Raiffeisen is the only Austrian company on the list. Some companies have been taken off the list, including Hungary's OTP Bank. Although Raiffeisen was suspended from the blacklist in December, its name still appears alongside 49 companies designated "international sponsors of war" drawn up by Ukraine's National Agency of Corruption Prevention. A Ukrainian government source, who requested anonymity in order to discuss sensitive matters, told Reuters that the letter was sent after the Austrian bank signalled its intention to quit Russia by the third quarter of 2024. The letter said the timeline for a sale of the bank's Russia business remained unclear. The letter also said that Raiffeisen had indicated in correspondence that a "sale/divestment" was the bank's "preferred option", but that no specifics had been provided.
The Ukrainian officials also asked in the letter for insight into how long regulatory approvals from the European Union and Austria would take to get through. "Our request for the specific benchmark(s) of business reduction remains largely unanswered too," it said, referring to the bank's commitment to reduce its Russian business. The letter concluded by saying that the bank's "suspended" status would remain in force, but that Ukraine could remove the bank from its blacklist if it got "positive news". Raiffeisen on Wednesday said it was in advanced talks to sell its Belarusian subsidiary to a buyer from the United Arab Emirates.
Reuters (12 February 2024)- Faced with stubbornly high Russian gas imports as the war in Ukraine rages on, Austria is seeking to take more radical steps, including ending energy company OMV's long-term contract to buy gas from Gazprom, Austria's energy minister said on Monday. Having long sought to maintain close ties with nearby Russia, Austria sought to end its decades-long dependency on affordable Russian gas soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, scrambling to find alternative providers.
While political leaders like Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler of the Greens repeated that Moscow was no longer a reliable partner, partly state-owned oil company OMV made clear that it would keep buying gas from Gazprom under a contract that runs until 2040. At a news conference called at a day's notice, Gewessler said Austria's gas imports actually increased in December to a new record of 98% from 76% the month before, even if the total volume of imports fell slightly. "The market and the energy companies that are part of it are not fulfilling their responsibility to reduce the dependency on Russian gas sufficiently," Gewessler said. "The diversification of our gas imports is advancing far too slowly." Gewessler said her ministry was tasking economic think-tank Wifo with producing a study by the summer on the economic impact of ending the contract and the dangers of remaining dependent on Russian gas. "We must prepare to exit OMV's long-term contracts," she said.
OMV issued a statement saying Russian gas is not under sanctions in the European Union and various countries import it, adding: "If lawmakers wish to abandon Russian gas, the legal basis for that must first be created." The energy ministry also said it plans to make it compulsory for companies selling gas in Austria to take concrete steps to reduce the proportion of Russian gas in their mix. It will examine the legal basis for such a requirement, which will require a two-thirds majority in parliament to become law, Gewessler added. It was not clear to what extent the left-wing Greens' coalition partner, Chancellor Karl Nehammer's conservative People's Party, was involved in the plans announced on Monday. A parliamentary election will be held by autumn of this year and the far-right Freedom Party is leading in the polls.
