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

Hungary’s Industrial Output Growth Exceeds EU average

In August this year, industrial performance – according to workday-adjusted data – increased by 0.9 percent in comparison to the corresponding period of 2012.

October 17, 2013

Poland to Improve Railway Infrastructure

According to CIR, the Polish government’s press center, the government plans on spending PLN 979m on railway infrastructure in 2014 and a further amount of PLN 692m in 2015.

October 16, 2013

Poland to Keep VAT Rates The Same Until 2015

In order to cut debts, the Polish government decided not to lower the level of VAT.

October 15, 2013

Polish Airline LOT Staves off State Aid

Because of the effective restructuring measures, the airline carrier has fended off the need for a capital injection by the Polish state, accordint to Deputy Treasury Minister Rafal Baniak.

October 15, 2013

IMF: Hungary´s Fiscal Situation Deteriorates

According to the IMF, Hungary´s public debt quota will increase. This stands in opposition to the optimistic forecasts of the government.

October 15, 2013

RBI May Pay Back State Aid Sooner

For Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International, the state aid becomes more and more expensive. The repayment will take place before 2017, insiders report.

October 14, 2013

Croatia: Hypo Group Losing Last Industrial Participation

Croatian chemical company Dioki is facing bankruptcy which is why Hypo Group is losing one of the last industrial participations in the country.

October 14, 2013

Croatia: Not Plans of Privatizing State-Owned Companies

Croatian government denies it planned to privatize 28 large state-owned companies.

October 14, 2013

Romania Keeps Majority Stake in Romgaz

Romania´s government will privatize 15% of the country´s biggest natural gas producer. The opening of the economy to foreign investors bears potential dangers.

October 12, 2013

Poland´s Banking Sector Underlines Stability

Moody´s Upgrades Poland´s banking sector. After the upgrade, Polish banks have their best rating since 2007.

October 12, 2013

Hungary: Borrowing Costs Decline

Yields on Hungarian sovereign bonds reached an all-time low. However, a rebound in 2014 is rather probable.

October 12, 2013

Romania: “Aggressive Rate Cuts Likely”

In view of the accelerating disinflation in Romania, Vienna-listed RBI (Raiffeisen Bank International) expects the monetary policy to be eased further.

October 12, 2013

Czech Inflation Below Expectations

The Czech inflation rate slowed down to 1.0% in September. In the next months, the country faces a stagnating economy in the best case.

October 9, 2013

Romania Under Observation

The IMF wants Romania´s government to put more effort in austerity measures, market liberalization and privatization of state-owned assets.

October 9, 2013

Austrian Post: Enormous Growth Potential in Turkey

With a local partnership, the Vienna-listed Austrian Post wants to participate in the booming Turkish post market.

October 9, 2013

Kapsch Lands Contract at Polish ADAC

Polish ADAC subsidiary hires Kapsch to optimize its call center.

October 9, 2013

Czech Republic: Construction Industry Still Contracts

In August 2013 the construction output decreased by 8.1%, year-on-year (y-o-y).

October 8, 2013

IMF Forecasts Only Minimal Growth for Austria in 2013

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts not even one half percent of GDP growth this year for Austria. However, 2014 has better chances for accelerated growth.

October 8, 2013

Austria: Alpine’s Bankruptcy Claims Amount to € 4.15bn

In regard to construction company Alpine’s insolvency, creditors have so far registered claims in the amount of € 4.15bn, as announced by liquidator Stephan Riel in the run-up to Wednesday’s examination hearing.

October 8, 2013

Czech Republic: Foreign Trade Surplus Grows

In August 2013, according to preliminary data of ‘cross−border statistics’ at current prices, exports increased by 1.9% while imports stagnated, year-on-year (y−o−y).

October 8, 2013

Strabag Lands Highway Construction Deal in Hungary

Austrian construction company Strabag has landed a deal for building a highway section in return for € 106m.

October 8, 2013

Fekter Presses for Provisional Budget Financing

Finance Minister Maria Fekter (ÖVP) does not count on the government to present a budget draft in time, which was scheduled October 22 and involves the Finance Act until the end of the year.

October 8, 2013

Czech Industrial Sector Remains Growth Engine

In August 2013, industrial production increased at constant prices by 1.6%, year-on-year.

October 8, 2013

Porr: Capital Increase and Rise in Profits Expected

CEO of listed Austrian construction company Porr Karl-Heinz Strauss is still in favor of a capital increase in 2014 or 2015 and calls upon the government to create “projects for the future”.

October 7, 2013

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Promotion of Ljudmila Popova to Group Executive Management Team

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Promotion of Ljudmila Popova to Group Executive Management Team

October 7, 2013

Hungary´s Government: Budget Draft “Risky”

This week, Hungary´s government has submitted the budget draft to the Hungarian Parliament. The basic assumptions are rather optimistic.

October 5, 2013

Croatia: Domestic Consumption Remains Weak

In the next years, Croatia´s economic performance will mainly depend on external factors.

October 5, 2013

Hungary: Easing Cycle Nears Its End

After the interest cut last week, there is still downward potential. However, MNB must be cautious, Hungary´s rate setter Gyula Pleschinger told WSJ.

October 4, 2013

Romania: Recovery Depends on External Factors

Thanks to foreign demand and foreign investors, Romania´s economy accelerates. However, domestic demand is still the country´s weak point.

October 4, 2013

Wifo: Austrian Economy Sees Upturn

Today the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (Wifo) has released its prognosis for 2013 and 2014. The institute sees the first signs of an economic recovery.

October 4, 2013

Keuschnigg Advises Austria to be Patient

According to Keuschnigg it was not possible to increase the core capital quota of the banks to the level necessary or to reduce public debts by 120 percent in two years only.

October 4, 2013

Romania: Consumption Remains Sluggish

In order to support Romania´s economy, the National Bank of Romania continues its monetary easing policy.

October 3, 2013

Poland: NBP Holds Interest Rate Flat

In order to support Poland´s economy, the Council of Polish National Bank has decided to keep the base rate at its historic low.

October 3, 2013

Hungary: Net Exports Grow Slightly

In the seventh month of 2013, the export volume of external trade in goods increased by 7.4%, while the volume of imports grew by 6.4% year-on-year.

October 3, 2013

Austria: Better off within Eurozone

Economic experts claim that since the beginning of the single currency union, Austria has seen an additional economic growth of 0.4 percent. According to them, a collapse of the Eurozone would lead to a massive decline in exports.

October 2, 2013

VIG to Issue Subordinated Bond

Vienna Insurance Group successfully launched a subordinated bond.

October 2, 2013

Croatia Tries to Avoid Bail-Out by IMF

The 28th EU member country has severe fiscal problems. In order to avoid the IMF, Croatia borrows about $ 1.5bn on the U.S. market.

October 2, 2013

Czech Republic: Unemployment Stabilizes

Despite the unfavorable macro-economic frame conditions, the Czech labor market situation is stable. Employment rose by 0.8 percentage points.

October 2, 2013

Hungary: Budget Deficit Higher Than Planned

In the first half of 2013, Hungary´s preliminary deficit came at 2.6% of GDP. The government anticipates that the deficit will not exceed 3.0% of GDP this year.

October 1, 2013

Czech Republic: GDP to Contract Less Drastically

The year-on-year decrease of the gross domestic product in 2012 has been refined to 0.9% against the up-to-now published 1.2%.

October 1, 2013

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Publication of an Announcement after art. 93 BörseG with the objective of Europe-web publication

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Publication of an Announcement after art. 93 BörseG with the objective of Europe-web publication

October 1, 2013

Poland´s Budget Gap Narrows

The Polish government has approved the final budget draft for 2014.

October 1, 2013

Upward Trend in Poland´s Labor Market

The unemployment quota stabilizes at a high level. Poland´s economic outlook improves gradually.

October 1, 2013

Eurozone: Inflation Drops to 1.1 Percent

According to first estimates by Eurostat, the Eurozone shows the lowest inflation rate in more than a year. Only twelve months ago the inflation rate was at 2.7 percent.

September 30, 2013

Romania Cuts Base Rate to Record Low

The Romanian Central Bank has cut the base rate to a record low of 4.25 percent.

September 30, 2013

Austria: Public Debt Increased to 74.0 Percent of GDP

Public finances 2012: public deficit at 2.5 percent, public debt at 74.0 percent of GDP.

September 30, 2013

Austrian Industry Continues Upward Trend

Developments in Austria follow the European trend.

September 30, 2013

Poland: Pension Scheme Reform to be Eased

At the beginning of September, Poland´s government decided to re-nationalize the pension system. Now, the government considers relativizing the reform.

September 28, 2013

"European bank supervision sends a strong signal to financial markets"

Austrian Federal Minister of Finance Maria Fekter welcomes favourable European Parliament decision on bank supervision.

September 28, 2013

Czech Republic: Working Poor Class Grows

In total, about one million Czechs fall into the category of employed poor. Their number is growing substantially.

September 28, 2013