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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
“EU administration must be screened for savings potential”
Austrian State Secretary Lopatka repeats Austria’s central demands at the General Affairs Council in Brussels.
September 25, 2012
Slight Decrease in Industrial Production in Hungary
In July, the industrial production was down by 0.3% compared to July 2011. In Austria, industrial production was up by 2.0%.
September 24, 2012
Waiglein Becomes Director of ESM
Austria´s Minister of Finance Maria Fekter mandates Harald Waiglein as member of the board of directors.
September 22, 2012
Poland´s Central Bank Retains Interest Rate
The Polish Monetary Policy Council held the base rate flat. Before, an interest rate cut of 50 bps or 25 bps were discussed.
September 22, 2012
Austria Claims Financial Transaction Tax
State Secretary Lopatka presents Austria’s positions to EU Commissioner Lewandowski.
September 21, 2012
Haynes: Cerberus Supports Bawag
Bawag´s CEO Byron Haynes confirms that the bank will cut jobs. The customer segment should be kept, however. Instead, the cost structure should become more efficient.
September 20, 2012
Polish Real Income Declining
As the inflation rate is still higher than wage increase, Polish households face a shrinking income.
September 20, 2012
Austria to Pay higher Contributions to EU
In the next financial period of the EU from 2014 to 2020, Austria´s contribution will increase substantially. Austria calls for keeping the discount system.
September 20, 2012
Poland: Standard & Poor´s Upgrades Banking Industry
The U.S. rating agency upgrades the banking sector´s risk score.
September 20, 2012
Croatia: Recession Aggravates
According to the Croatian Statistical Office, GDP was down by 2.2% compared to last year.
September 20, 2012
Hungary Revises GDP Forecasts
Initially, the Hungarian government forecasted a GDP growth rate of 0.1% this year. Now, State Secretary Gyula Pleschinger explained that Hungary´s economy will shrink this year.
September 20, 2012
European Commission Approves State Aid for VBAG
The European Commission has today approved the comprehensive restructuring plan developed by Österreichische Volksbanken-AG (VBAG) in the wake of the financial and economic crisis to restore long-term profitability.
September 19, 2012
Hungary: Real Income Falls Further
In the first seven months of 2012, the Hungarian real income was down by 4%.
September 19, 2012
IMF-Loan: Orban Demonstrates Optimism
According to Hungary´s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the negotiations with IMF are proceeding on schedule.
September 18, 2012
Banking Supervision: Nowotny Warns of Over-Ambition
According to the governor of OeNB (Austrian Central Bank), it would be dangerous to establish new institutions without a democratic legitimization.
September 18, 2012
Polands FDI Level Stagnates
Compared to 2011, the size of foreign directed investments in Poland stays almost unchanged.
September 18, 2012
Hungary Becomes Tax Haven for Czech and Slovak Enterprises
In the last three years, the number of Czech enterprises with head office in Hungary was up by 41%.
September 15, 2012
Austrian Banks View Savers Protection to be Endangered
The planned unification of the deposit protection is met with skepticism at Austrian banks. As the details are not clear yet, the deposit protection is yet no issue anyway.
September 15, 2012
New Record in Croatian Tourism Sector
In the first eight months of 2012, about 10 million tourists came to Croatia. This is a new record level.
September 15, 2012
Hungarian Central Bank Call for Growth Stimulating Measures
In August, the Hungarian Central Bank cut the base rate by 0.25 percentage points. According to the Council, growth should be supported.
September 15, 2012
Czech Unemployment Rate Remains Flat
In August, the Czech Republic´s unemployment quota came at 8.3%.
September 15, 2012
Croatia´s Fight Against the Recession: More Austerity and Increase in Exports
According to Paul Krugman, the development of Croatia´s economy depends on the performance of the export-oriented industry.
September 14, 2012
Czech Public Debt Growing Rapidly
Until the end of the year, public debt is expected to increase to € 63.77bn. At the end of 2011, the public debt level came at € 58.5bn.
September 14, 2012
Czech Republic Threatened of Downgrade
Because of its instable political situation, the Czech Republic may be downgraded. Debt service costs may increase substantially.
September 14, 2012
Hungarian Central Bank Against Bank Taxes
According to the governor of Hungary´s Central Bank, the bank taxes are causing the lending freeze.
September 14, 2012
Austrian Inflation Rate Below EU Average
In August, the official consumer price inflation rate increased by 2.2%. In the Euro area, annual inflation was up to 2.6%.
September 14, 2012
ESM: Austrian Budget Has Already Appropriated the funds
Austria´s share in the ESM comes to € 19.5bn. The capital share is about € 2.2bn. The Austrian Finance Ministry underlines the importance of the ESM.
September 14, 2012
Banking Union: Austrian FMA Wants to Integrate Eastern European Countries
According to the board of Austria´s Financial Market Authority, not only the banks of the Eurozone should be supervised.
September 13, 2012
Nowotny: Not Overcharging ECB
Ewald Nowotny, governor of Austrian Central Bank (OeNB) argues that ECB should not control all banks.
September 13, 2012
Spar Records Losses in Hungary
The Austrian retail chain operates 400 branches in Hungary. The economic crisis caused substantial losses.
September 13, 2012
VAT Dispute: Necas Seeks Compromise
The Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas is optimistic that the instable government will survive. He wants to reach a compromise with the dissenters.
September 13, 2012
„Banking Union Must Not Become Burden for Real Economy“
The Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) underlines that the banking union must be competition-neutral. Above all, the real economy must not face liquidity constraints, IV says.
September 13, 2012
Hungary: Difficult Negotiations with IMF
The relation between Hungary´s Prime Minister and IMF is chronically tensioned. Another delay of the conclusions of the negotiations is likely.
September 12, 2012
OECD: Czech Spending on Education too Low
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development criticizes the Czech government. Expenditure on education only reach 4.8% of GDP, which is below the OECD average of 6.2%.
September 12, 2012
Polish Public Debt Quota to Decrease
Although the planned budget deficit will not be met this year, Poland´s Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski expects a declining public debt quota.
September 12, 2012
Verbund Commissions 100 MW Wind Farm in Romania
The Austrian energy group´s 100 MW wind farm of Casimcea I, close to the Romanian Black Sea Coast, joins the grid.
September 11, 2012
Moody´s: Poland Still Has Strong Credit Profile
Despite the economic slowdown, Poland´s credit profile remains robust, Moody´s Assistant Vice President Jaime Reusche told PAP.
September 11, 2012
Soros: "Germany Must Lead or Leave"
In a talk on "The Future of the Euro" in Vienna, George Soros presented his vision of how the European financial crisis can be solved.
September 11, 2012
Romanian Romgaz to be Privatized
The privatization of Romgaz at Bukarest Stock Exchange may become Romania´s biggest IPO. According to the Romanian news agency hotnews, other big privatizations in Romania may be postponed.
September 10, 2012
Hungary: Bank Tax Intake Lower than Expected
The bank tax proceeds only reach 40% of the planned volume.
September 10, 2012
Euro-Crisis Enters Austria
In the second quarter, the Austrian GDP only grew by 0.1%, WIFO says (Austrian Institute of Economic Research). A recession is not excluded anymore.
September 10, 2012
Austerity Package: Czech Government Asks for Vote of Confidence
After the austerity package was disapproved by the Czech Parliament, the government resubmits the bill to the Chamber of Deputies.
September 10, 2012
Hungary: Orban Rejects IMF´s Conditions
This week, a list containing IMF´s conditions for a € 15bn loan became public. However, it is not known whether the list is a counterfeit. Not at this price and not in this way.” Hungary´s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
September 8, 2012
Germany to Depend on Austria´s Electricity “for the next 50 years“
After Germany´s nuclear exit, the German energy production faces new challenges, Michael Fuchs at the biggest German power grid operator Tennet thinks that Austria and Germany have a symbiotic relationship.
September 8, 2012
Romania Leaves Recession Behind
In the second quarter, Romania´s GDP was up by 0.5% The construction industry was the driving force.
September 8, 2012
Czech Republic: No VAT Increase
The governing coalition failed in seeking approval by the parliament. In order to lower the budget deficit, the government intended to lift the VAT rates.
September 7, 2012
Imports Still Bigger than Exports
The Austrian external trade increases moderately in the first half of 2012. Export growth was slightly higher than import growth.
September 7, 2012
Polish Central Bank Retains Interest Rate
NBP (National Bank of Poland) kept the base rate at 4.75%. In the last weeks, a cut was discussed.
September 7, 2012
Unemployment: Highest Payments for Austrians
According to the globalization fund, Austrian unemployed receive three times as much than the EU average.
September 7, 2012
Immofinanz: New Project in Cologne
The Austrian real estate group dissolved its joint venture with Frankonia Eurobau and took over the Gerling Quarter in Cologne.
September 6, 2012