Austrian News

Austrian News: Read the latest headlines about developments in Austrian domestic politics with reference to the international interest

Erdogan Met Orban in Budapest

Turkey´s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has met his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban in Budapest. Orban praised the success of Turkey´s government.

February 6, 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

Serbia: Key Policy Rate Raised to 11.75 Percent

In its meeting, the NBS Executive Board voted to raise the key policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 11.75 percent.

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

Necas Supports Turkish EU Membership

On the occasion of Prime Minister Erdogan´s visit in Prague, his Czech counterpart Necas assured to support Turkey´s candidacy.

February 6, 2013

Size of Austrian Bank Aid: € 20bn

Since 2008, the Austrian state has injected more than € 8bn into domestic banks. Guarantees total € 12bn.

February 5, 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

Slovenia´s Banking Industry in Distress

Due to the economic crisis, the lending business goes down. The indebtedness of the real economy remains high. Funding costs are increasing.

February 5, 2013

Austrian Government May Put Veto Against EU Budget

Members of the Austrian government fear that Austria may lose its discount. The annual loss would come at more than € 180m.

February 5, 2013

„Croatia Has No Answer to the Crisis“

Economists fear that the economic crisis in Croatia will continue this year. The government does not implement enough reforms, observers say.

February 4, 2013

Serbia Faces Political Crisis

After severe allegations against Prime Minister Ivica Dacic, the Serbian governing socialists reject to hold new elections. The coalition partner still supports Dacic.

February 4, 2013

Poland: Banks Continue to Tighten Lending Policy

NBP Report: In the fourth quarter of 2012, the banks continued to reduce the availability of loans to households and small and medium-sized enterprises. The banks expected demand for housing loans to decline sharply in the first quarter of 2013.

February 4, 2013

Tusk: “Poland Becomes a Full Member of the EU”

Poland´s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Poland will join the Fiscal Pact. The conservative opposition rejects this step.

February 2, 2013

Austria´s Net Contributions to Brussels to Increase Significantly

At the moment, Austria´s net contributions come at 0.2% of GDP. From 2014 to 2020, the figure may increase to 0.36% of GDP.

February 2, 2013

Hungary: “EU funds to be spent on economic development”

In the 2014-2020 fiscal period of the European Union, Hungary will allocate the 60 percent of EU resources to stimulating growth and the development of the economy,

February 2, 2013

Czech Republic Returns to Growth Slowly

According to the Czech Ministry of Finance, the recovery will be only gradual. This year, GDP is expected to increase by 0.1%.

February 2, 2013

Bulgaria: Deficit Lower than Planned.

The budget balance under the Consolidated Fiscal Programme (CFP) for 2012 is negative, amounting to BGN 350.2 million, or 0.45% of the planned GDP.

February 2, 2013

Schwarzenegger Calls for a “Sexy, Hip” Approach at the Vienna R20 Conference

Arnold Schwarzenegger called for an end to “doom and gloom” environmentalism and more of a “sexy, hip” approach at the Vienna R20 Conference.

February 1, 2013

Croatia: New Difficulties for Banks Ahead

Croatia´s National Bank is said to increase the coverage ratio for non-performing loans.

February 1, 2013

Lower Constraints for Romanian National Bank

Central bank to remain on hold, but room to ease control over liquidity conditions has increased, Raiffeisen Research reports.

February 1, 2013

Orban: „Agreement with IMF Unlikely“

According to Hungary´s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the IMF tries to put pressure on Hungary.

February 1, 2013

Romania: „Ongoing fiscal consolidation in 2012“

According to Raiffeisen Research, Romania´s public finance begins to improve. However, the budget execution still shows some weaknesses.

February 1, 2013

Fekter: "Our measures are having an effect"

Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter pleased regarding preliminary administrative budget deficit.

February 1, 2013

Erdogan Considers Joining „Shanghai Five“

Turkey´s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan increases the pressure on the EU. He considers a political re-orientation towards the east.

February 1, 2013

Austria: Budget Deficit Lower than Anticipated

The Austrian federal government's administrative deficit during 2012 was approx. € 7bn. Relative to the budgeted figure of approx. € 11.1bn, this represents a savings of approx. € 4.2bn.

February 1, 2013

Slovakia and Austria to Put more Effort in Coordination for EU Issues

20 years of diplomatic relations between Austria and Slovakia.

February 1, 2013

Czech Republic: Disputes Over Fiscal Pact

In the Czech Republic, the ruling coalition parties do not have a common point of view.

January 31, 2013

Poland to Fulfill Convergence Criteria Gradually

Governor of NBP (National Bank of Poland) Marek Belka argues that the country will not meet all the Maastricht Criteria simultaneously.

January 31, 2013

Poland: Opposition Criticizes Government´s Economic Policy Sharply

Opposition leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski says that the government does not fight against the economic slowdown.

January 31, 2013

ECB Extends Co-Operation with National Bank of Serbia

Today, the European Central Bank (ECB) decided to extend the two-year central bank cooperation programme with the National Bank of Serbia (NBS).

January 31, 2013

Nowotny Underlines Improving Outlook

Ewald Nowotny, governor of Austrian National Bank (OeNB) stresses that not many countries were upgraded by the rating agencies in the last years.

January 30, 2013 · Updated: January 30, 2013; 18:34

OeNB: Austrian Banks Remain Cautious

According to Austrian National Bank, the Austrian banking industry tends to keep the strict lending policy in the corporate banking sector.

January 30, 2013

Slovenia: Corporate Lending Falls Considerably

Due to the difficulties in the Slovenian banking sector, the real economy suffers from a credit crunch.

January 30, 2013

„Whatever Happens to the Euro, Happens to Our Currency“

In an interview with the Austrian daily newspaper “Kurier”, Latvia´s Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis explains why Latvia joins the Eurozone. However, the Latvians are not convinced at all.

January 30, 2013

“Operations of Austrian Banks in CESEE Region Are a Success Story“

Regarding the Austrian banking sector, governor of OeNB (Austrian Central Bank) Ewald Nowotny demonstrates cautious optimism.

January 30, 2013

National Bank of Serbia Fights Against Inflation

The asset quality in the banking sector shows first signs of stabilization, Raiffeisen Research reports.

January 30, 2013

Hungarian National Bank Cuts Interest Rate Again

At its meeting on 29 January 2013, the Monetary Council reviewed the latest economic and financial developments and voted to reduce the central bank base rate by 25 basis points from 5.75% to 5.50%, with effect from 30 January 2013.

January 30, 2013

Serbian Budget Deficit Lower than Expected

The government succeeded to achieve the 2012 budget deficit reading below the planned one, Raiffeisen Research reports.

January 30, 2013

Austria: Tax Convention Signed with Liechtenstein

Austria´s Finance Minister Maria Fekter: “A good day for Austria – through fair taxation”.

January 29, 2013

S&P Upgrades Austrian Sovereign Bonds

Finance Minister Maria Fekter on Standard and Poor's upgrade: "We are on the right path and our measures are showing results".

January 29, 2013

„Our Future is Central and Eastern Europe“

Andreas Treichl, CEO of Austrian Erste Group, stresses the importance of the CESEE region and the necessity to become more efficient.

January 29, 2013

IMF Criticizes Hungarian Government

According to IMF, the economic outlook for Hungary is rather gloomy.

January 28, 2013

Rostowski: Poland´s Economy to Recover in Second Half of 2013

Poland´s Minister of Finance expects that the economic slowdown will continue for the time being.

January 28, 2013

Czech Government Rejects New Elections

After Milos Zeman was elected as new President of the Czech Republic, he called for new elections. A change of government would be rather likely.

January 28, 2013

NBU Expects Lower Inflation

The inflation expectations of the heads of Ukrainian enterprises have been low for the third quarter in a row.

January 28, 2013

“Using the location Vienna as a bridge between the EU and Latin America”

Austrian State Secretary calls for cooperation in security issues and sustainable energy at the international organisations headquarters in Vienna.

January 28, 2013

54.9%: Zeman Wins

Milos Zeman will become the next President of the Czech Republic. His rival Karel Schwarzenberg has already recognized his defeat.

January 26, 2013

Austria: Kommunalkredit May Become Even More Expensive

According to experts, the bail-out of the Austrian fully nationalized bank is not managed yet. Austrian taxpayers must expect further capital injections.

January 26, 2013 · Updated: January 26, 2013; 20:24

Erdogan to Visit Hungary

Turkey´s Prime Minister will come to Hungary in February.

January 26, 2013

Czech Republic: Zeman Ahead

Today, the run-off election in the Czech Republic has ended. According to first results, the socialist Zeman ranks first.

January 26, 2013