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