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

Ukraine: Budget Deficit Grows Considerably

General government deficit increased to 5.5% of GDP in 2012 (from 4.2% in 2011) amid feeble tax revenue performance, Raiffeisen Research says.

February 20, 2013

Ukraine´s Economy Stagnates

According to the preliminary estimate by the State Statistics Committee, Ukraine’s GDP grew 0.2% yoy in 2012, thus decelerating from 5.2% yoy in 2011.

February 20, 2013

Ukraine: Deal With IMF to be Cut in Summer

The visit of IMF mission to Kyiv did not bring the immediate results. Raiffeisen Research expects the negotiations to be rather prolonged.

February 20, 2013

Poland: Economic Slowdown Becomes More Visible

Poland´s economic growth continues to decelerate. Domestic consumption and employment goes down.

February 19, 2013

Hungary: Hope for Soon Economic Recovery Vanishes

In the last quarter of 2012, Hungary´s GDP was down by 2.7% compared to the reference period of 2011.

February 19, 2013

LOT to be Privatized in 2013

LOT Polish Airlines faces a dramatic phase of restructuring. In order to saleable, the airline company will downsize radically.

February 19, 2013

Construction Industry: Polish Output Fell Sharply

In the EU, the construction output was down by 2.7%. Poland and Bulgaria record a substantial decrease in production.

February 19, 2013

Poland: Rostowski Calls for Structural Reforms

Minister of Finance Jacek Rostowski wants his country to join the Eurozone. However, Poland has to implement fiscal reforms, he claims.

February 18, 2013

Romania Almost Stagnates

Last year, Romania´s economy could prevent a recession. The GDP growth came at 0.2%.

February 18, 2013

NBU: “Banking Industry Shows an Upward Trend”

Mr. Oleksii Tkachenko, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, believes that overall 2012 was a successful year for the domestic banking industry.

February 18, 2013

Major Losses for Croatia Airlines

The publicly owned national carrier will introduce restructuring measures, the management announced.

February 16, 2013

Hungary´s Construction Output Falls by 6%

Year-on-year, construction output decreased by 5.9% in 2012 and by 3.1% in December. Over the whole year, both the construction of buildings (7.6%) and civil engineering works (4.0%) decreased.

February 15, 2013

Polish LOT Plans Mass Lay-Offs

In order to prevent a bankruptcy, the financially stricken airline has to downsize radically, Prime Minister Tusk says.

February 14, 2013

“Austria’s interests are best represented in a competitive EU”

State Secretary Lopatka underlines the necessity of maintaining competitiveness in the EU.

February 14, 2013

Hungary: Industrial Production Shrinks Considerably

In December 2012, industrial output was 7.6% lower than a year ago.

February 14, 2013

Czech GDP Was Down by 1.1% in 2012

In the Q4 2012 the gross domestic product adjusted for price, seasonal, and calendar effects decreased by 1.7%, year-on-year, and by 0.2%, quarter-on-quarter, according to the preliminary estimate.

February 14, 2013

Poland: Foreign Trade Growth Slows Down

The negative balance on the current account amounted to EUR 1.2bn as compared with EUR 1.9bn in December 2011.

February 14, 2013

Hungary: Inflation Moves Up

In January consumer prices increased by 3.7% compared to January 2012.

February 14, 2013

Hungary: GDP Down by 2.7%

On the basis of the preliminary estimation of HCSO the gross domestic product of Hungary decreased by 2.7% in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.

February 14, 2013

Russia: Consumer Loans Growing Substantially

At the moment, the market for consumer loans is growing by 40%. The household indebtedness is still relatively low.

February 13, 2013

Poland: Wages Up by 2.9%

In the fourth quarter of 2012, average wages rose moderately. However, the real income fell for the first time since 1993.

February 12, 2013

“2012 was a good year for the domestic banking industry”

Ihor Sorkin, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine underlines that the performance of the Ukrainian banking industry was satisfying last year.

February 12, 2013

Spindelegger: “Acceptable Result for Austria”

“For Austria, this result is not exactly a reason to be euphoric, but it is important both for Europe and for us that we have managed to reach an agreement.” Austria´s Minister of Foreign Affairs said.

February 12, 2013

Inflation Slightly Below CNB’s Forecast

The Czech National Bank comments on the January 2013 inflation figures.

February 12, 2013

Austrian Governing Parties Disagree on EU Budget

The Austrian people´s party (ÖVP) has criticized Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann (SPÖ). The social democrats argue that the coalition partner ÖVP has “no team sprit”.

February 11, 2013

Czech Inflation Rate Flattens

In January, consumer prices were up by 1.3%. In the last twelve months, the price increase was 1.9%.

February 11, 2013

Boom Market Turkey: Overheating or an Investment Opportunity?

Erste Group: “A Positive Outlook on the Bosporus”. This year, Turkey´s expected GDP growth comes at 4%.

February 11, 2013

Russia: National Bank Under Pressure

Russia´s National Bank faces a growing inflation rate. At the same time, the economic growth flattens.

February 9, 2013

“Not Enough Support for Growth and Competitiveness“

Georg Kapsch, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries criticizes that the EU budget does not contain enough future investments.

February 9, 2013

Czech Republic: Unemployment Grows Further

Among the new EU member countries, the Czech Republic has one of the lowest unemployment rates. However, the country cannot escape the trend.

February 8, 2013

2014 - 2020: Austrian Net Contributions Rise Substantially

In the financial period from 2014 to 2020, Austria loses almost the half of its discount. The net contributions total € 1.15bn per year.

February 8, 2013

Poland: Unemployment Quota Above 14%

In January, Poland´s unemployment quota came at 14.2%, the Polish Ministry of Labor says.

February 8, 2013

Ukraine: Foreign Exchange Reserves on the Rise

International reserves increased by USD 106 million over January 2013.

February 8, 2013

Hungary´s Foreign Trade Balance Positive

In 2012, exports as well as imports were down substantially. The surplus of trade balance amounted to EUR 192 million in December.

February 8, 2013

Klaus Recommends to Split Eurozone

According to the outgoing Czech President, the separation of the eurozone would be cheaper than maintaining the currency union.

February 7, 2013

Czech National Bank: Recession Goes On in 2013

According to CNB, the country has not overcome the crisis yet. This year, the Czech GDP will fall by 0.3%.

February 7, 2013

Hungary´s Economy to Recover?

Hungarian Minister of Economics György Matolcsy says that the country may achieve the turnaround this year. Last year, several adverse factors occurred at the same time, Matolcsy explained.

February 7, 2013

IMF Is Satisfied With Progress in Ukraine

This week, the meeting between the senior officials of the National Bank of Ukraine and experts from the IMF's European Department took place in Kyiv. The co-operation will be intensified.

February 7, 2013

Czech Industrial Production Slightly Decreased in 2012

Industrial production slightly decreased in 2012 after two years of growth. The year-on-year decrease started in the Q2 and gradually deepened in the following periods.

February 7, 2013

Czech Service Industry Shrinks

In Q4 2012, seasonally adjusted sales in services decreased, quarter-on-quarter, at constant prices by 1.6%.

February 7, 2013

NBP Cut Interest Rate Again

The Council of the National Bank of Poland decided to decrease the interest rates by 0.25 percentage points.

February 7, 2013

Romania Privatizes Freight Division of National Railways

Romania´s government sells a 51% stake in CFR Marfa, the publicly held rail freight company.

February 6, 2013

Czech National Bank Keeps Interest Rates Unchanged

The CNB Bank Board decided at its meeting today to keep interest rates unchanged. The two-week repo rate was maintained at 0.05%, the discount rate at 0.05% and the Lombard rate at 0.25%.

February 6, 2013

Czech Construction Industry Shrinks Substantially

Construction output down by 6.5% in 2012. In December 2012 the construction output declined by 17.3%, year-on-year (y-o-y).

February 6, 2013

Czech Industrial production Dropped by 1.2% in 2012

In December 2012, industrial production decreased at constant prices by 12.5%, year-on-year; working days adjusted industrial production decreased by 5.8%.

February 6, 2013

Czech Republic: Exports and Imports Grew Significantly in 2012

In December 2012, according to preliminary data of ‘border statistics’, exports and imports at current prices fell by 7.1% and 7.0%, year-on-year (y-o-y), respectively.

February 6, 2013

Romania Keeps Interest Rate Flat

In its meeting, the Board of the National Bank of Romania decided to keep the monetary policy rate unchanged at 5.25 percent per annum and too ensure adequate liquidity management in the banking system.

February 6, 2013

Turkish Airlines Expands Massively

According to CEO Temel Kotil, Turkish Airlines has an enormous growth potential. The function of Istanbul as hub between Asia and Europe is a crucial for Turkish Airlines.

February 6, 2013

„Hungary Needs Sustainable Reforms“

The IMF underline that the country must restore the confidence of international investors. At the moment, Hungary´s government is not forced to continue the talks with IMF.

February 5, 2013

Czech Republic: Retail Trade Shrinks

For the entire year 2012, sales in retail trade including the automotive segment decreased at constant prices by 1.1%, y-o-y.

February 5, 2013