Germans in Vienna | Deutsche in Wien | Bilateral Relations

Austria and Germany - Read the latest headlines about bilateral relations in the areas of economy, business, investment, diplomacy, culture and tourism

CESEE Region Suffers from Migration

The countries of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe are confronted with a highly unfavorable demographic trend. The brain-drain is expected to persist.

October 17, 2013

Eurozone: Banking Union Approved

From autumn 2014 on, the European Central Bank (ECB) will directly supervise 130 major banks within the Eurozone.

October 16, 2013

HVB: UniCredit Considers IPO

Bank Austria´s holding company UniCredit may sell a minority stake in Germany HVB.

October 14, 2013

Austrian Industrial Sector Well Positioned in International Competition

In 2012, the Austrian industrial sector was well positioned in the international competition, according to a study by the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (Wifo).

October 14, 2013

Austria Remains Main Investor in Slovenia

Last year, almost the half of the foreign direct investments in Slovenia came from Austria.

October 11, 2013

Trade in Austria Has Increased Since Opening of CESEE Market

Today the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (Wifo) published the “Analysis of the Austrian Balance of Trade“ on behalf of the Economic Ministry.

October 10, 2013

Gazprom May Face Proceedings by Austrian OMV

OMV considers arbitral proceedings against Russian Gazprom in case no joint solution will be found.

October 9, 2013

Poland: Amazon to Establish Three Logistic Centers

Leading online retailer Amazon will open three major logistic centers in Poland. According to the company’s own proclamation, this step does not relate to the latest striking problems in Germany.

October 8, 2013

CA Immo to Sell Mercedes Benz Headquarters in Berlin

After selling Tower 185 in Frankfurt, CA Immo will now sell the headquarters of Mercedes Benz in Berlin. By this measure, debts will decline significantly for the Austrian real estate company.

October 7, 2013

Bulgaria Takes out Schuldschein Note Loan via German Banks

The Bulgarian government has decided to take out a Schuldschein note loan in the amount of € 360m through German banks, media reports claim.

October 7, 2013

Voestalpine Expects Turnaround

The European demand in steel is increasing. Austrian steel manufacturer voestalpine expects the worst of the crisis for the steel industry to be over.

October 7, 2013

UK: Growth Potential in CESEE

According to the IMF, the UK economy is not diversified sufficiently. Now, UK promotes exports to the CESEE region.

October 5, 2013

Raiffeisen Research: CESEE Deserves Better Credit Ratings

Analysts of Raiffeisen Research think that Austria´s sovereign debt rating is worse than the rating agencies say. The CESEE region, by contrast, is seen too critically, Raiffeisen Research argues.

October 4, 2013

CESEE: Recovery Slow, but Stable

Corporate sentiment improving in major CEE countries as well, as the economic recovery begins to take root. Low point in interest rates has essentially been reached, rises in yields to follow trends in the developed markets, RZB says.

October 4, 2013

Austria: Downsizing Models for Hypo

Currently, everything revolves around the establishing of a bad bank despite of Finance Minister Maria Fekter’s objection. However, now, after the elections, this issue needs to be resolved.

October 4, 2013

Economic Recovery and Interest Rate Turnaround Also in Austria?

Not only Germany but also the peripheral areas of the European Union see economic recovery supported by an increasing export activity.

October 3, 2013

Austria Well Positioned in Global Economic Integration

According to a recent study by the Vienna Institute for Economic Studies (wiiw), Austria is well positioned in the global production and economic integration.

October 3, 2013

Austria: Struggling to Keep up with Economic Growth and Competitiveness

IV demands overhaul of funding policy by the government so that Austria will improve in international competitiveness.

October 1, 2013

CA Immo: Four Star Hotel in Berlin Completed

Europacity Berlin: CA Immo completes new InterCityHotel at Berlin’s central station

October 1, 2013

Slovenia to Decide about Selling of Telekom Slovenije

The Slovenian government will decide upon the fate of Telekom Slovenije on Thursday, October 3.

October 1, 2013

Austria: Unemployment Will Not Stop Increasing

In September, the number of persons unemployed continued to increase while employment rose slightly. In total, a number of 335,661 persons were jobless which makes an increase of 13.8 percent on an annual comparison.

October 1, 2013

CA Immo: Agreement for Partial Sale of Group’s Largest Project

CA Immobilien Anlagen AG signs agreement to sell two-thirds of Tower 185 in Frankfurt.

October 1, 2013

Austria Placed 9th in Competition Ranking

According to the latest EU Competition report 2013, Austria ranks ninth among 28 member states. The leaders in the ranking are Sweden, followed by Germany and Denmark while Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania are at the lowest positions.

September 25, 2013

Austria: WKO Demands Impulses for R&D

Deputy President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO), Martha Schultz, demands new impluses for research and innovation in the years from 2014 to 2020.

September 19, 2013

Austria Requires More Risk Capital

On an international level, the risk capital investments in domestic enterprises are low at only 0.04 percent of GDP.

September 12, 2013

IMF: Praise and Criticism for Austria

According to the IMF´s country report, Austria´s main problem is the fiscal situation.

September 11, 2013

Austria: Weak Growth Impulses

Today, the Austrian Institute for Economic Research (Wifo) has corrected the economic outlooks for Austria downwards. Growth impulses have been very weak so far.

September 10, 2013

Polish Alpine Files for Bankruptcy in Vienna

More affiliates of Alpine are affected.

September 3, 2013

Slovenia: Telekom Austria Hesitates

The Vienna-listed Telekom Austria Group has two major growth opportunities in Slovenia. Slovenian Telekom and Telemach are for sale.

September 3, 2013

German Affiliate of Alpine Sold

By the selling of the German affiliate of construction company Alpine 520 out of 1,250 employees will lose their jobs.

September 2, 2013

Cyprus: Waiting for the Next Bailout Tranche

Crisis-struck member of the Eurozone Cyprus will have to wait for the next payment out of the bailout-package. Before the next tranche will be transferred the small country has to implement key measures.

September 2, 2013

Austria: OeNB Increases Growth Forecast for 2013

The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) has slightly increased its growth forecast for Austria in 2013 from 0.2 percent to 0.5 percent. Govenor Nowotny said there was a better development than expected in the second quarter.

August 30, 2013

Kapsch: Enormous Problems at Austrian Business Location

President of Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) Georg Kapsch confirms the criticism voiced by President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) Christoph Leitl and several other politicians by the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).

August 28, 2013

Croatia Backs Down in EU Arrest Warrant

In the dispute about the extradition of a retired officer of the secret service to Germany, Croatia now seems to back down to the pressure put on by the European Union.

August 28, 2013

Strache: „No New Aids for Greece“

Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ), demands that further bail-out funds for Greece should be stopped immediately.

August 27, 2013

Austrian Economy Minister: “No Time for Idle Complacency”

Austrian Minister of Economics and former general secretary of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO), Reinhold Mitterlehner avoids any dispute with Christoph Leitl, President of WKO but signals a different opinion.

August 27, 2013

EU Commission Threatens Croatia with Sanctions

Only a few weeks after its EU Accession, Croatia is facing threats of sanctions by the EU Commission.

August 26, 2013

Austria: Fekter Reserved About Further Aids for Greece

In the debate about a third bail-out package for Greece worth billions, Austrian Finance Minister Fekter presented herself restrained.

August 22, 2013

Eurozone: Strongest Growth Rates in Two Years

The Eurozone continues to recover. Businesses in industrial production and in the service sector increased to a new high in more than two years. However, growth in both sectors is still not enough for the creation of new jobs.

August 22, 2013

Austrian Division of Hypo Alpe Adria Managed to Turn A Profit

In the past half year the Austrian division of nationalized bank Hypo Group made small profits.

August 20, 2013

Czech Republic to Crawl out of Recession

In the second quarter the Czech economy grew by 0.7 percent compared to the first quarter.

August 15, 2013

End of Recession Supports Stock Exchanges in Europe

The Eurozone seems to have finally left recession behind. This is one of the reasons why markets closed trades with a plus on Wednesday.

August 15, 2013

Austria: Alpine-Energie to be Taken Over by Triton

Former affiliate of construction company Alpine Bau Alpine-Energie, which is based in Linz and was temporarily “parked” with a special company, has a new owner.

August 13, 2013

Romania: Significant Drop in Purchase Power

General consumption climate is unfavorable in Europe at the moment.

August 12, 2013

20,000 Bank Shops Have Closed Since Beginning of Crisis

60 percent of the costs in the business with private clients are caused by bank shops. Still, banks are hesitant to close them as they fear the loss of long-term clients.

August 12, 2013

Commerzbank: Austria to Miss Budget Goals

Without a new austerity package, Austria will run up more debts than calculated in the bugdet plan, German Commerzbank says. The country’s AAA ratings are likely to decrease.

August 12, 2013

Leitl: Positive Export Development Despited of Economically Difficult Times

The Austrian economy should, according to the President of WKO, focus export growth in third countries and distant markets.

August 10, 2013

conwert strengthens its presence in Germany

The Austrian property investor concludes the acquisition of a large residential property portfolio. Portfolio of 4,016 rental units and a floor space of 265,815 sqm

August 6, 2013

Immofinanz Prepares for BUWOG Sale

The Austrian real estate company plans a going-public for Buwog in 2014. Above all, Immofinanz wants to complete Buwog´s German portfolio.

August 3, 2013

Cautious Optimism in Slovakia

The economic outlook for Slovakia brightens slightly. The export-oriented country benefits from the stabilization in the Eurozone.

August 2, 2013