Vienna's Foreign and Bilateral Relations

Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, diplomacy, culture and tourism between Austria and its partners

“Romania Can Never Become the China of Europe”

Stabilization in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is becoming stronger. However, the political crisis in Ukraine is causing a feeling of insecurity among the population.

May 15, 2014

Raids at Romanian Affiliate of VIG

A number of business locations of Omniasig, the Romanian affiliate of Austrian insurer VIG, were searched by the police. Several employees are accused of forgergy and abuse of authority.

May 14, 2014

Romania: Banca Transilvania Gives Shares to Employees

As part of the loyalty program, the Romania lender gave almost 10 million shares to its employees.

May 12, 2014

Croatia: Adris Grupa to Bid for Insurer Croatia Osiguranje

The Croatian financial regulator HANFA has approved Adris Grupa, the largest tobacco company on the Balkans, placing its bid to take over insurance company Croatia Osiguranje.

May 12, 2014

Swiss Telecoms Services Provider TalkEasy to Enter the Austrian Market

TalkEasy aims to target the unhappy customers of Telekom Austria, which recently raised its tariffs substantially.

May 12, 2014

World Bank Approves Health Loan to Croatia

The Croatian government will use the World Bank’s funds for a national health program.

May 9, 2014

Romania: Raiffeisen Bank Issues Unsecured Bonds

Raiffeisen announced plans of issuing unsecured bonds at the stock exchange in Bucharest with a nominal value of RON 500m (€ 112.8m) with a maturity of five years.

May 9, 2014

Telekom Austria: Considerable Losses in Croatia

Telekom Austria’s Croatian affiliate Vipnet saw a sharp decline in profits.

May 9, 2014

Bulgarian Mobile Affiliate of Telekom Austria Posts Loss in Profits

In the first quarter of 2014 revenues of Mobiltel, Bulgarian mobile operator and affiliate of Telekom Austria, dropped 6.4 percent year-on-year.

May 9, 2014

Poland: Banking Industry’s Profits Down

In the first quarter this year, the net profit of Polish banks came at PLN 3.97bn (€ 944m, down by 2.9 percent year-on-year, as reported by the Polish financial market regulator KNF.

May 9, 2014

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Albania’s European Renaissance

Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania since 2013 is going to address the Bruno Kreisky Forum in Vienna.

May 8, 2014

Vranitzky: Joining EU One of the Most Courageous Steps

A symposium showed the EU Accession process of Austria in the early 1990’s in a new light.

May 6, 2014

Agenda Austria 2020: Economy = State

The think tank Agenda Austria 2020 is currently tackling the question what the “economy expects from the state”.

May 5, 2014

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Notice of First Quarter Results

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Notice of First Quarter Results

May 2, 2014

Poland: Bank BZ WBK Expects High Growth of Profit

The Polish affiliate of Spanish Banco Santander, Bank BZ WBK, expects net profits in 2014 to increase compared to last year’s volume.

April 30, 2014

Investkredit Funding Ltd. / Yearly Report

Investkredit Funding Ltd. / Yearly Report

April 30, 2014

Austria: Industrial Production with Growth Potential

Austrian industry continues to grow - but somewhat less dynamically than at the turn of the year.

April 30, 2014

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / UPDATE ON BOND BUYBACK

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / UPDATE ON BOND BUYBACK

April 29, 2014

Serbia: New Government Taking Drastic Measures

New head of the Serbian government Aleksandar Vucic has ambitious plans to reform the state and restructure state finances.

April 28, 2014

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Intention to hold AGM

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Intention to hold AGM

April 28, 2014

Croatia Faces Radical Fisal Measures

The fiscal situation of the Balkan country and youngest EU member state is disastrous. The Croat government announced to introduce new taxes.

April 25, 2014

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / ATRIUM SELLS A LAND PLOT IN TURKEY FOR EUR47M CONSIDERATION

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / ATRIUM SELLS A LAND PLOT IN TURKEY FOR EUR47M CONSIDERATION

April 24, 2014

Serbia: “Huge Challenges Ahead”

President Tomislav Nikolic appointed Aleksandar Vucic to form a new Serbian government.

April 23, 2014

Poland: Costs for Banking Services Rising Dramatically

The banking fees in Poland saw a dramatic increase in the second half last year.

April 23, 2014

Serbia: Key Rate Kept Unchanged.

The NBS (National Bank of Serbia) decided to keep the policy rate unchanged as there is no threat of inflation.

April 22, 2014

Poland: VAT Likely to be Reduced

As announced by Polish Finance Minister Mateusz Szczurek, the government plans on cutting the VAT rate to 22 percent in 2017.

April 22, 2014

Serbia: PM Nominated Next Week

The Serbian President will nominate the new Prime Minister on Tuesday, April 22.

April 18, 2014

Czech Republic: Interest on Mortgage Loans Dropped

Interest ratest on mortgage loans dropped to a record low to 2.93 percent last month.

April 18, 2014

Serbia: New Government Stands

Despite the absolute majority of his party SNS, Vucic could create a strategic alliance with the social democrats.

April 17, 2014

Poland: Budget Deficit Soaring

Last year the budget deficit amounted to 4.3 percent of GDP.

April 17, 2014

Immofinanz: Ownership Problems in Romania

According to a court decision Immofinanz has took over not legitimately acquired property in Transsylvania.

April 17, 2014

S&P Upgrades Polish Banking Sector

Rating agency Standard & Poor’s has upgraded the Polish banking sector from “negative” to “stable”.

April 16, 2014

Serbian New Government More Efficient and Modern

The presidency of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), which gained a landslide victory in the recent parliamentary elections, has decided to create a coalition with the Alliance of Vojvodina Hungarians (SVM).

April 15, 2014

Serbia: “Radical Measures” Needed to Tackle Grey Economy

Experts call for higher penalties to make tax evasion and gray economy less profitable and establish financial discipline.

April 14, 2014

“Bank Rescue is a Crime”

Martin Ehrenhauser, leading candidate of the Austrian electorial alliance “Europa Anders”, which is running for the EU elections, has voiced harsh criticism about the saving of financial institutes.

April 14, 2014

Poland: Number of Consumer Loans Increases

According to Polish credit bureau BIK, the number of granted consumer loans has reached a new record.

April 11, 2014

Vucic: “Not Afraid of Social Riots”

The future Prime Minister of Serbia underlined the necessity of reforms.

April 10, 2014

Poland: Key Rate Kept on Hold

The Monetary Policy Council of Poland has kept the key interest rate on hold since it ended easening in July last year.

April 10, 2014

Poland: NBP Posts No Profits

In 2013 the Polish National Bank (NBP) posted no profit.

April 10, 2014

Serbia: Vucic Rejects Single-Party Government

Aleksandar Vucic, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and future Prime Minister, said on Tuesday that his party does not intend to govern on its own.

April 9, 2014

Poland: BZ WBK to Take Over Santander Consumer Bank

Bank BZ WBK was given the go-ahead by the Financial Market Regulator KNF to acquire a 60 percent stake in retail bank Santander Consumer Bank (SCB) from their joint parent bank Banco Santander.

April 9, 2014

S IMMO AG: Letting success in Sofia

The first quarter of 2014 brought encouraging successes in letting for S IMMO AG in Sofia, one of the company’s most challenging markets.

April 9, 2014

Austria: Government Wants “Restrictive Budget Performance”

Today the Austrian government has decided upon a “restrictive budget performance.

April 8, 2014

Austria: Majority Does Not Trust Euro

Only 49 percent of Austrian citizens have faith in the Euro.

April 7, 2014

Serbia: Effective Measures for Economy

The Serbian Chamber of Commerce considers the measures for economic growth “a very big thing”.

April 7, 2014

Hungary: Clear Victory for Orban

Today, Hungary has held parliamentary elections. Despite controversial and radical reforms, Prime Minister Orban was confirmed.

April 6, 2014

Czech Economy Recovers Slowly

In 2013, the Czech GDP was down for the second consecutive year. This year, the Czech economy is expected to expand by 1.4%.

April 5, 2014

Hungary: Orban Faces Re-Election

Tomorrow, Sunday, Hungary holds national elections. Despite the difficult economic frame conditions in Hungary, the centre-right government is expected to be confirmed for the next four years.

April 5, 2014

Austria: Capital Increase for Hypo Group Decided

The Austrian problem bank Hypo Group Alpe Adria will receive € 750m in fresh capital.

April 4, 2014

VBAG: No State Aids in 2014

The restructuring of VBAG Group is supposed to be completed until 2017, as announced by the banking group. From currently 48 regional bank shops in Austria nine regional banks are supposed to remain.

April 3, 2014