Vienna International Community - Top Politicians - Latest Headlines

Read updated news about key politicians in Vienna's international community

Strabag SE Appoints Christian Harder as CFO

Managing Director of STRABAG SE subsidiary BRVZ to join management board of STRABAG SE effective 1 January 2013. Appointment of Thomas Birtel as Deputy CEO.

December 17, 2012

Kazakhstan: „Among the Top 30 in 2050“

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev predicts an economic boom in the next decades.

December 15, 2012

Banking Union: Czech Republic Cautious

For the time being, the Czech Republic will not join the single supervising mechanism.

December 15, 2012

Gasparovic Meets Klaus

The Slovak President Ivan Gasparovic was officially received by his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus.

December 11, 2012

„Eurobonds Are No Solution“

Latvia´s Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis argues that euro-bonds may be implemented at the end of the convergence process.

December 11, 2012

Turkey: „The EU Needs Us“

On the occasion of a visit in Hungary, Turkey´s Minister of European Affairs Egemen Bagis argued that the EU would benefit from Turkey´s accession.

December 11, 2012

Hypo Group Expects Enormous Challenges

„Next year will be very difficult.“ CEO Gottwald Kranebitter says in an interview with “WirtschaftsBlatt”.

December 10, 2012

Belka: “Poland Is Free of Economic Imbalances”

The governor of the Polish National Bank (NBP) admits that the economic slowdown is substantial, but no fundamental problem.

December 6, 2012

Telekom Austria: Reappointment of CEO Ametsreiter Uncertain

The future of Telekom Austria´s top management is still open. Anyway, the company gets a third management board member.

December 6, 2012

Voestalpine Expects Stable Development

Regarding the next quarters, CEO Wolfgang Eder is slightly optimistic. Steel demand will remain stable, he says.

December 6, 2012

„Banking System Becomes More Solid“

The chairman of OeNB (Austrian National Bank) Ewald Nowotny thinks that the banking supervision and the Basel III framework will stabilize the financial markets.

December 4, 2012

Banking Supervision: Fekter Calls for Flexibility

Today, the meeting of the Finance Ministers of EU countries was unsuccessful. Austria´s Finance Minister Maria Fekter comments that quality is more important than speed.

December 4, 2012

Faymann as Juncker´s Successor?

Austria´s Federal Chancellor Werner Faymann is said to have relatively good prospects to become head of the Euro Group.

December 4, 2012

Rothensteiner: „No Credit Crunch“

Walter Rothensteiner, CEO of Austrian Raiffeisen Zentralbank, thinks that the capital shortfall of European banks does not limit credit supply.

December 3, 2012

“Eurozone On Stable Ground”

Austria´s Minister of Finance Maria Fekter is optimistic. Spain, Portugal and Ireland are making substantial progress. However, the crisis is not over yet, she notes.

December 1, 2012

„Property Taxes are Nonsense“

Austria´s Minister of Finance Maria Fekter reaffirms that property taxes must be prevented.

November 30, 2012

RHI: 2012 Will be Successful

The Austrian refractory company will record a substantial increase in revenues and earnings, CEO Struzl says. However, results of the fourth quarter are expected to slacken.

November 30, 2012

„Too Many Banks in Austria“

Hannes Androsch, President of the Austrian bank holding Fimbag, warns that Austria´s exposure in CESEE countries is disproportionately high.

November 28, 2012

"There is no alternative to intercultural and interreligious dialogue"

UN Secretary General and high-ranking political representatives and religious leaders attend the opening of the new Dialogue Centre in Vienna.

November 27, 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

Austrian Railways: Sale is „No Issue”

Christian Kern, CEO of Austrian Railways (ÖBB) underlines that the company must not be sold.

November 24, 2012

„The Worst Is Over Now“

In an interview with the Austrian newspaper “Die Presse”, Birgit Kuras explains that Vienna Stock Exchange faces an upward trend.

November 23, 2012

Austrian Industrial Federation Wants Higher VAT

Georg Kapsch, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries (I) calls for a VAT increase. The VAT rate remains unchanged at 20% of decades.

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

AMAG: Management Board Reappointed

The Supervisory Board of AMAG Austria Metall AG announces the reappointment of the Management Board members.

November 22, 2012

AUA to Strengthen CEE Network

After Air Berlin decided to reduce the number of flights from Vienna to Eastern European destinations, Austrian Airlines intends to fill the gap.

November 20, 2012

Nowotny: „Not Afraid of Inflation“

Ewald Nowotny, governor of Austria´s Central Bank (OeNB) thinks that the danger of a stagnating economy is bigger than the danger of an increasing inflation.

November 20, 2012

Slovenia to Sharpen Austerity Measures

The Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa announced that the austerity policy will be implemented even more consequently.

November 20, 2012

OMV Underlines Necessity of Shale Gas Production

The Austrian oil and gas group stresses that shale gas may reduce the dependency on Russian natural gas.

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

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

Hungary: Next Austerity Package Resolved

The Hungarian government is caught between the need to lower the budget deficit and to support economic growth.

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

Treichl: Austria Should Cooperate with CEE Countries

Erste Group´s CEO Andreas Treichl thinks that CEE countries and Austria should create a model region in Europe like the Scandinavian countries did.

November 16, 2012

Vienna: General Attractiveness Decreases

The quality of the Viennese business location deteriorates. The high degree of bureaucracy and the high non-wage labor costs are the most problematic issues.

November 16, 2012

„Greece Has No Future in Eurozone“

The Czech President Klaus thinks that the Eurozone could bear a Greek exit without any problems.

November 15, 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

State Visit: Klaus Received by Fischer

Today, the Czech President Vaclav Klaus has met his Austrian counterpart Heinz Fischer in Vienna. The commonalities are rather small.

November 13, 2012

Fekter Underlines Austerity Policy

Fitch rating agency assigns its best triple A rating to Austria, praising in particular the stability and reform package approved in March.

November 10, 2012

New Record for Bilateral Trade Between Poland and Austria

Christoph Leitl, President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce underlines the close and friendly relationships between Poland and Austria.

November 8, 2012

Voestalpine: Savings Higher than Planned

The Austrian steel group could reduce its costs more effectively than initially planned. From 2010 to 2013, total savings reach € 650m.

November 7, 2012

Nowotny: More Power for Big Countries

The governor of Austrian National Bank OeNB Ewald Nowotny proposes to amend the voting rights at ECB.

November 7, 2012

Magna May Withdraw from Austria

The automotive group threatens to leave Austria. The wages would be too high, Magna Europe´s CEO Günther Apfalter says in an interview with “Kurier”.

November 5, 2012

Rostowski: Poland´s Economic Slowdown “Only Temporary”

Regarding the medium-term economic development, the Polish Finance Minister Jacek Rostowski proves confidence.

November 2, 2012

Erdogan Tries to Put Pressure on EU

The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns of postponing the EU accession of his country.

October 31, 2012

Lithuania´s Government Aims to Join Eurozone

The social democrat Algirdas Butkevicius may become Lithuania´s next Prime Minister. His main targets are austerity and the accession to the Eurozone.

October 31, 2012

Czech Republic and Slovakia: Nuclear Power Remains Main Energy Source

The Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico underline that nuclear energy will remain the future technology.

October 30, 2012

„Banking Union Weakens Central Banks“

The Czech President Vaclav Klaus criticizes that a common banking supervision limits the competencies of national central banks.

October 30, 2012

„Strengthening Relation with Russia“

Christoph Leitl, President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO) argues that Europe must co-operate closer with Russia in order to manage the crisis.

October 25, 2012