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

Poland: Unemployment Remains on High Level

The Polish government expects the unemployment quota to grow slightly.

November 27, 2012

Orange-Takeover: One Step Closer to the Goal

Telekom Austria is allowed to take over the discount operator Yesss!. Now, only the Commission has to approve the whole deal.

November 27, 2012

Romanian Central Bank on Hold

Romania´s Central bank remained on hold at its most recent monetary policy meeting on 2 November, keeping the monetary policy rate unchanged at 5.25%.

November 27, 2012

Romania: Fiscal Situation Improves

“Public budget deficit amounted to only 1.2% of GDP at the end of September, which was better than we had expected.” Raiffeisen Research states.

November 27, 2012

Poland: Foreign Direct Investments Grow Massively

Last year, the U.S. was the biggest investor in Poland. Regarding the EU budget, Prime Minister Tusk emphasizes that cohesion funds must not be cut.

November 26, 2012

Romania: Foreign Trade Declines

"When expressed in EUR equivalent, both exports and imports of goods fell marginally in Q3 (-1.1% qoq and -0.3% qoq respectively, according to our in-house seasonally adjusted data)." Raiffeisen Research says.

November 26, 2012

Romania: Economic Upswing Expected

According with the flash estimates, real GDP declined by 0.5% qoq and by 0.6% yoy in Q3. “In our view, contraction was mainly the result of a plunge in agricultural output.” Austrian Raiffeisen Research says.

November 26, 2012

Nowotny: „CESEE Needs New Growth Model“

Ewald Nowotny, governor of Austria´s National Bank (OeNB), thinks that the current growth model for the region is outdated.

November 26, 2012

Hungary: Retail Trade Sector Shrinks

Due to the declining real income, sales in the retail trade industry fell by 3.9% compared to 2011.

November 26, 2012

Czech Republic: Overall confidence in economy decreased

The composite confidence indicator (economic sentiment indicator) decreased by 1.7 points compared to October.

November 26, 2012

Ukrainian National Bank Under Pressure

In order to support its own currency, the foreign exchange reserves of NBU (Ukrainian National Bank) were down substantially.

November 24, 2012

OMV Focuses on Black Sea and North Sea

By 2020, the Austrian oil and gas group will ship natural gas from the Black Sea to Austria. Investments in the North Sea region are being fostered.

November 24, 2012

Poland´s Population Expected to Shrink

In the next 40 years, the Polish population might decrease by 6 million.

November 24, 2012

Hungary: Small Concession for Banking Industry

The banking sector in Hungary is under pressure. The government in Budapest decided to pay back debts of municipalities by the end of the year.

November 24, 2012

S&P Downgrades Hungary

The U.S. rating agency lowers Hungary´s sovereign debt rating from “BB+” to “BB”.

November 23, 2012

Porr: Renaissance Group to Enlarge its Interest

The Turkish Renaissance Group owns a 10% interest in Porr and wants to reach a blocking minority at the Austrian construction company.

November 23, 2012

VIG: Satisfying Results Ahead

Next Tuesday, Vienna Insurance Group will publish its results for the first nine months of 2012.

November 23, 2012

Croatia Plans to Introduce Property Taxes

Croatia´s Finance Minister Slavko Linic plans to introduce a property tax next year. The rate will come at 1.5%.

November 23, 2012

Verbund Leaves Turkey

The Austrian energy group sells its interest in Enerjisa to German E.ON. Verbund will re-focus on hydro power.

November 23, 2012

RBI Threatens to Leave Hungary

The Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International criticizes the burden for the banking sector in Hungary.

November 22, 2012

“We shall maintain tough position on EU budget until the very end”

Austrian Vice-Chancellor Spindelegger: “unambiguous about Austria’s position on EU financial framework“.

November 22, 2012

Czech Republic: Budget Approved

Next year, the Czech state budget is planned to reach 2.9% of GDP.

November 22, 2012

Hungary: Real Wages Decline Remarkably

In 2012, real wages went down by 5.3%. This is mainly due to the persistently high inflation rate (6.6%).

November 22, 2012

Poland: Economy Expected to Recover in 2013

Poland´s Minister of Finance Jacek Rostowski is optimistic that economic growth will accelerate next year.

November 21, 2012

Real Estate Market: Austria Is Underdeveloped

Regarding the rate of owner-occupied flats, Austria is below the EU average. Poland ranks first.

November 21, 2012

Hutchison Austria: Takeover Approved

The EU Commission allows the Hong Kong-based telecommunication group to take over its Austrian competitor “Orange”. The Austrian Federal Competition Authority is not convinced yet.

November 21, 2012

CNB: „Czech Republic Does Not Need Quantative Easing“

The Czech National Bank underlines that the country´s economy is fundamentally stable. The current situation would be managable.

November 20, 2012

Hungary: Public Debt Level Declines

Due to the favorable currency development, the public debt level fell slightly.

November 20, 2012

Ukrainian National Bank Stresses Stability of National Currency

The National Bank of Ukraine was able to ensure hryvnia stability – by results of the expert meeting. Inflation could be kept at 0.00% in the first nine months of 2012.

November 20, 2012

Hungarian Construction Industry Performs Well

In September 2012, construction increased by 6.8% in output year-on-year. The construction of buildings rose by 4.2% and that of civil engineering works grew by 9.4%.

November 20, 2012

Hungary: Gross Earnings Grow Moderately

In the national economy – at corporations employing at least 5 persons, budgetary and designated non-profit institutions – average gross earnings increased by 4.5%.

November 20, 2012

Poland: Pawlak Steps Down

The Polish Minister of Economics Waldemar Pawlak resigns. His re-election as leader of the Agrarian Party has failed.

November 19, 2012

Ukrainian Banking Sector Expands Slightly

Despite the economic slowdown in the Ukraine, lending is on the rise.

November 19, 2012

Gloomy Prospects for Ukraine

Economic slowdown is gaining momentum: GDP slumped by 1.3% yoy in the 3rd quarter, while industrial output contracted for 5th month in a row in October (by 4.2% yoy), Austrian RZB states.

November 19, 2012

EU Budget: Losses for Poland Will Keep Within Limits

Poland will still be the biggest net contributor. According to Poland´s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, the negotiations prove highly difficult.

November 17, 2012

Belka: Polish Economy Will Recover In 2013

The governor of the Polish National Bank (NBP) Marek Belka demonstrates optimism.

November 17, 2012

Steel Industry: „Up to 100,000 Jobs Endangered“

Wolfgang Eder, CEO of the Austrian steel company voestalpine, warns of the persistently high oversupply in the European steel industry.

November 17, 2012

Hungary: Decrease in Industrial Production Continues

In September 2012, industrial gross output declined by 3.8% in volume compared to the same month of 2011.

November 16, 2012

NBP: Further Interest Cuts Likely

The Polish National Bank may reduce the base rate further. Poland´s economy is expected to slow down next year.

November 15, 2012

Hungary´s Recession Goes On

In the third quarter of 2012, Hungary´s GDP was down by 1.5%.

November 15, 2012

Czech GDP Drops Further

In the Q3 2012 the gross domestic product adjusted for price, seasonal, and calendar effects decreased by 1.5%, year-on-year, and by 0.3%, quarter-on-quarter, according to the preliminary estimate.

November 15, 2012

Immofinanz: Major Success in Hungary

The Austrian real estate company concludes one of the biggest logistics leasing transactions of the year in Hungary.

November 15, 2012

EU Budget: Austria Faces Massive Cuts

After the negotiations have failed, the Commission presented a new draft. Major cuts for Austria seem inevitable.

November 14, 2012

Austria Third Largest Investor in Czech Republic

According to the Czech President Vaclav Klaus, his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer and the President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce Christoph Leitl, the bilateral trade relations are expandable.

November 14, 2012

CA Immo Expands in Warsaw

“Continuing success for largest Polish property development.” The Austrian property company will complete project before the end of the year.

November 14, 2012

Romania Hopes for New IMF Loan

The economic situation remains gloomy. Foreign direct investments are weakening. The economic outlook is rather decent.

November 13, 2012

Hungary: Inflation Remains on a High Level

In October consumer prices increased by 6.0% compared to October 2011. From September to October 2012, prices were up by 0.1%

November 13, 2012

Hungary: Head of Banking Association Resigns

The chairman of the Hungarian Banking Association Mihaly Patai steps down. He explains that the Hungarian state overburdens the banking sector.

November 13, 2012

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Quarterly Report

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / Quarterly Report

November 13, 2012

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / THIRD QUARTER RESULTS SHOW CONTINUED STRONG OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

Atrium European Real Estate Limited / THIRD QUARTER RESULTS SHOW CONTINUED STRONG OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE

November 13, 2012