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Education Policy
Central European University Accredited as Private University in Vienna
The Austrian accreditation procedure for the CEU Central European University was successfully completed, so that the university can now start its operations in Vienna. Until now, the university was accredited in the USA and Hungary, the teaching took place exclusively in Hungary.
July 12, 2019
Headscarf Ban at Elementary Schools Confirmed by Austrian Federal Council
The so-called headscarf ban, the ban on covering the head of children from the age of six to ten for ideological and religious reasons, was approved by the Federal Council (Bundesrat) despite controversial debate. For Minister of Education Faßmann, the ban on headscarves corresponds to the socio-political consensus on the development of children as freely as possible and the necessity to overcome gender-specific stereotypes.
June 3, 2019
Standardised Austria-wide Autumn Holidays as of 2020/21
From the school year 2020/21 there will be uniform autumn holidays in Austria between National Day and All Saints Day - from 27 to 31 October - according to the unanimous decision of the Austrian National Council. There will be no additional school holidays, the teaching time will not be changed. Only the distribution of school-autonomous days will change. Specifically, the days off after Easter and Whitsun will be cancelled. This would ensure relief for pupils, teachers and parents.
May 16, 2019
Saudi Arabia Closes Controversial Private School in Vienna
Saudi Arabia closes the controversial Saudi School Vienna in Vienna's Landstrasse district. The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Vienna sees "better" opportunities for integration into the local community by visiting other schools in Vienna.
February 27, 2019
Austria's Vice-Chancellor Also Wants Headscarf Ban for Students
An extension is now under discussion since yesterday. Heinz-Christian Strache requested a comprehensive ban on headscarves in a TV appearance analogous to Turkey, as it had applied there until before the AKP. Until now it was decided that children under the age of ten should not wear headscarves. The government wanted to propose a law by summer for which it needs the votes of the opposition. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who made the appearance together with Strache, agreed with Strache that he is completely on the same line.
April 6, 2018
Industrial Location Austria Losing Attractiveness
Among other things, labor costs and energy prices are too high, according to the Austrian Federation of Industries.
April 16, 2014
Hungarian Electorial Law Supports Major Parties
Orban is the clear winner of the parliamentary elections in Hungary. He stressed that there are no more conflicts with the EU than any other member state had.
April 7, 2014
Leitl: “Growth Must Not Mean Less Reforms”
Economic growth is now weaker than in the previous phases of upturn.
March 28, 2014
Serbia: Program for New Government in Progress
The future government will have to implement extensive reforms. Vucic, whose party saw a landslide victory in the parliamentary elections, is working on the government’s program.
March 26, 2014
Austria: Unemployment Rate to Remain at Record High
The Austrian unemployment rate is expected to remain at a record high even in 2015.
March 25, 2014
Austria: Reform Steps Very Modest
Austria, along with Germany and Switzerland, hardly put any economic reforms into realization. This is the conclusion of the annual “reform barometer” for the three countries.
March 20, 2014
Wifo Warns European Council of Economic-Policy Standstill
The Austrian Institute of Economic Research sharply criticizes the current economic policy of the European Union and calls for a change of course to reach the self-defined targets.
March 19, 2014
Austria: Unemployment Rate Rises Once Again
Once again the unemployment rate in Austria saw a significant rise. More than 440,000 persons were registered jobsless in February.
March 3, 2014
Austria: Opposition Presses for Information
The Austrian Greens demand information in regard to problem bank Hypo Group Alpe Adria.
January 28, 2014
Austria: On Verge of Losing Business Attractiveness
The new tax package does not only burden car drivers and smokers but also the economy will have to contribute to the budget with several hundreds of millions of Euros annually.
January 15, 2014
CESEE: Lack in FDI Causes Modest Economic Growth
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is cautiously optimistic about economic growth in CESEE.
January 14, 2014
CEE: Economic Sentiment Cautiously Optimistic
The economic sentiment for Eastern European countries is becoming more optimistic, however, only cautiously. Poland is on top of the list of economists at JP Morgan.
January 2, 2014
Austria: Kapsch Delivers Warning to Policy-Makers
Georg Kapsch, President of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), is very cautious about economic growth in Austria and warns the policy-makers of a budget consolidation on the basis of expectations of growth.
December 27, 2013
Croatia: Milanovic Promises Economic Recovery
Prime Minister vows that Croatia's economy will be put on a sounder footing.
November 28, 2013
Slovenia on Top of Prosperous Countries in Emerging Europe
Slovenia is leading the list of prosperous countries in Emerging Europe. Bulgaria is on the last position.
October 30, 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
Austria: Pussyfooting around Forming Government Coalition
The Austrian People’s Party is picky in regard to choosing a coalition partner. So far the ÖVP has shown no interest in starting coalition talks with former partner SPÖ. However, there are not many options left.
October 2, 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
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
Leitl: “Grand Coalition Did Not Fulfill Expectations“
Christoph Leitl, President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKO), favors a change in the governing parties as the grand coalition has not realized the necessary reforms.
September 24, 2013
Faymann: Austria as Role Model for Investments and Employment Programs
The Austrian Chancellor calls for a fair distribution of wealth and lower taxes on wages.
September 20, 2013
Wifo: Economy Remains Competitive Despite High Wages
Head of Wifo (Austrian Institute for Economic Research), Karl Aiginger, calls for a change of views in economic policy as competitiveness is more than just low costs.
September 18, 2013
Leitl Recommends Parties Not to Raise Hopes
President of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, Christoph Leitl considers the demand of the Social Democrats and Chancellor Werner Faymann for a tax relief as soon as 2015 utopian.
September 17, 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
Austria: Spindelegger Confident About Becoming New Chancellor
The intense elections campaign for the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) has officially started on Tuesday. Deputy Chancellor and party leader Spindelegger promised more jobs and housing space.
September 11, 2013
Romania: West Region to Catch Up Economically
Romania's West Region aims to catch up with its more developed peers in the European Union.
September 9, 2013
President Fischer Urges Austria to “Roll Up Sleeves“
In regard to the current election campaigns, the Austrian President Heinz Fischer has urged the parties for joint efforts.
September 4, 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
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
Faymann: Joint Combat against Unemployment
During a meeting with Slovenian Prime Minister Bratusek and Croatian Prime Minister Milanovic and Austria’s second biggest city Graz, Austrian Chancellor Faymann pointed out the governments’ key tasks.
August 23, 2013
Austria: Leitl Reiterates Criticizm
State Secretary Schieder considers Leitl’s statements “totally out of place”.
August 23, 2013
Romania Initiates Structural Reforms
In order to receive a precautionary loan from the IMF, Romania´s government will implement a series of reform steps. Above all, Romania starts privatizations again. Romania´s economic outlook continues to brighten.
August 3, 2013
Poland: Measures to Increase Employment
The polish government approved a package of measues becoming effective by 2014 to improve the situation on the labor market.
July 10, 2013
Austrian Coalition to Take Stock of Legislative Period
In a joint interview with several leading Austrian newspapers, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Deputy Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger take stock of the legislative period so far.
June 28, 2013
Austria: „Death Blow for Economy“
The Austrian Economic Association (Wirtschaftsbund) announced that the realization of all demands in the Austrian Trade Unions’ (ÖGB) leading proposal would come at € 21.9bn. The Austrian economy would be burdened with € 14bn.
June 17, 2013
Hungary: Fifth Amendment of Controversial Constitution Planned
The controversial Hungarian constitution is supposed to be changed for the fifth time since the EU Commission threatened the country with infringement proceedings.
June 10, 2013
Leitl: „There Is No More Time To Waste“
Switzerland and Sweden pull away from the rest of the European countries in regard to international competitiveness, according to the latest IMD report, while Austria has been falling behind.
May 31, 2013
World Competitive Ranking: Austria Loses 7 Ranks
The World Competitive Ranking of Lausanne IMD Private School of Economics has become one of the most significant location comparisons on an international basis in the last 25 years.
May 29, 2013
Slovenia: Huge Cuts in Complementary Budget
Foreign Ministry might be closed down since a 20 percent cut is proposed.
May 24, 2013
Maria Fekter: Hot-Tempered Lady At the Fireplace
Raiffeisen Centralbank (RZB) organized a „fireplace chat“ with Finance Minister Maria Fekter which took place on May 7 in Vienna.
May 8, 2013
EU Commission: Action Plan for Steel Industry in Europe
During his visit to Linz, EU Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani announced measures for the steel industry in Europe.
May 7, 2013
Austrian Greens Put Forward Motion of Censure Against Fekter
The Austrian Greens intend to file a motion of censure against Finance Minister Maria Fekter. Party Leader Eva Glawischnig announced a “match of Greens against Fekter”.
April 24, 2013
Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina to Commence Dialogues
Bosnia-Herzegovina shows interest in Austrian social partnership model and measures against increasing youth unemployment rate.
April 18, 2013
Croatia Looking at EU Through Rose-Tinted Glasses
On July 1, Croatia will be joining the EU as 28th member state. Croatia is the first country after the economic crisis to become a member of the Union.
April 17, 2013
EU Threatens Hungary With Process
The EU Commission has warned Hunary with a lawsuit in case the government in Budapest should not withdraw the controversial amendmends to the consititution.
April 12, 2013
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