Newsletter: Western Balkan Countries in the Spotlight

Bulgarian Head of State Radew Met Austria's Heads of State

During the first official visit of the Bulgarian President Rumen Radev to Vienna, he met with President Van der Bellen in the Hofburg, Chancellor Bierlein in the Federal Chancellery and President Sobotka in Parliament.

25 Years of Diplomatic Relations between North Macedonia and Austria

Working visit of Alexander Schallenberg to the Macedonian leadership in Skopje, with the aim of exchanging views on the opening of EU accession negotiations and regional issues, and to reassure North Macedonia of full Austrian support for a speedy EU accession.

Start of the Austrian-Slovenian Year of Neighbourhood Dialogue

The Federal Ministry for Europe Integration and Foreign Affairs opened the Austrian-Slovenian Year of Neighbourhood Dialogue with a concert with Austrian and Slovenian artists in the Viennese REAKTOR and in the presence of the Slovenian ambassador Ksenija Škrilec. More than 60 cultural events are planned in both countries until autumn 2020.

Schallenberg: Full Integration into the European Union for Albania

After his visit to North Macedonia, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg met with representatives of the Albanian state and city governments in Tirana.

Visit of the President of the Republic of North Macedonia to Austria

While the Macedonian President Stevo Pendarovski pays his respects to Austria and the Federal President continues to strongly support the accession of North Macedonia into the European Union, it becomes known from Paris that France's President Emmanuel Macron is vetoing EU accession negotiations with the Balkan states of North Macedonia and Albania, as he apparently considers the progress made so far in the two countries to be insufficient.

Vienna Just an Emergency Solution: What's the Future for the Central European University?

About a year after it was driven out of Hungary by Viktor Orban, the CEU has started its provisional operation in Vienna-Favoriten. Two new Master programmes in Business Administration and International Public Affairs were launched simultaneously. Within 5 to 6 years, the Vienna campus is to move to Baumgartner Höhe. But the CEU will never abandon Budapest as a location.

Model European Parliament with 100 Participants in Vienna

Students from ten countries discussed European policy issues in the Great Redouten Hall of the Austrian Parliament.

Kurz Is Assigned the Mandate to Form a Government

Federal President Van der Bellen gave the mandate to form a government to the head of the Austrian People's Party, Sebastian Kurz. Kurz announced talks with all parties. The most discussed coalition variant is the cooperation with the Green Party.

Vienna Migration Agency Develops Recommendations for EU

Entitled "Breaking the gridlock and moving forward: Recommendations for the next five years of EU migration policy", participants of the Vienna Migration Conference 2019 will explore migration policy options and the formulation of future strategies.

Writer Peter Handke Awarded Nobel Prize for Literature 2019

The Swedish Academy has awarded the Austrian writer Peter Handke the Nobel Prize in Literature 2019 "for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience". The prestigious award is endowed with more than 800,000 euros.

Billionaire Heidi Horten Unveils Her Contemporary Museum Concept

Heidi Goëss-Horten has announced the winning architectural office, which will design the new museum of the Heidi Horten Collection in the Palais Goëss-Horten (Hanuschhof / Stöcklgebäude) until the beginning of 2022.

First Sub-Two Hour Marathon Challenge - Why Vienna Was Chosen?

Kenyan long-distance runner Eliud Kipchoge, the current marathon world record holder, plans to break the last great barrier of modern athletics - the 2-hour marathon. An epic challenge of this magnitude needs a suitable and equally grand location to do it justice, and the Prater in Vienna is the perfect fit - from the air quality to the climate.