Significantly fewer Austrians will travel to Greece this summer, preliminary booking records show. The Verkehrsbüro Group, Austria’s biggest tourism company, said yesterday (Weds) the number of Austrians planning holidays in the debt-stricken country in southern Europe had been 21.6 per cent higher at the same time last year. The travel office enterprise said Greece remained […]
Tag: Austria
All-clear for new railway tunnel
Decision-makers have defended the construction of the Semmering tunnel. Social Democratic (SPÖ) Traffic Minister Doris Bures praised the agreement between the provinces of Lower Austria and Styria, Federal Railways (ÖBB) and the state as an “important signal for future generations”. ÖBB boss Christian Kern pointed out that a train journey from Vienna to Graz would […]
ÖVAG and BAWAG ‘will not merge’
FIMBAG boss Klaus Liebscher has admitted uncertainties regarding whether the state will ever again see any of its Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) participation capital. Liebscher told radio station Ö1 today (Thurs) it was impossible to make a definitive statement regarding the issue. He admitted that it was unlikely that the more than one billion Euros would […]
Sberbank set to spend 300mn
The new owner of Volksbank International (VBI) has revealed plans to invest hundreds of millions of Euros. Sberbank – which transferred 505 million Euros for the finance institute to Volksbank AG (ÖVAG) in February – announced yesterday (Tues) it would spend 300 million Euros on the restructuring of VBI to support the planned expansion. Sberbank, […]
Makeover for VIA terminals
The terminals of Vienna International Airport (VIA or VIE) will be renovated or rebuilt, according to Flughafen Wien AG (FW). Bosses of FW – which manages Austria’s biggest airport – said yesterday (Tues) they wanted to refurbish or reconstruct VIA’s three terminals in the coming years. They also informed shareholders that the opening of a […]
Harassing firms must pay, pensioners say
Austria’s pensioners have called on the government to introduce laws which would up the pressure on “bullying” companies. Andreas Khol, who heads the country’s Association of Conservative Pensioners, said: “Firms which bully employees and force them to retire prior to the regular pension age should be obliged to come up for the costs the state […]
The Austrian government has informed the European Commission (EC) and Eurozone financial issues watchdogs about its budget path. Social Democrats (SPÖ) and People’s Party (ÖVP) filed a document to the political institutions’ headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, and Strasbourg, France, today (Weds). The paper features all detail information about how the coalition intends to erase the […]
BZÖ chief denies Stronach alliance
Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) boss Josef Bucher has dismissed claims that he plans a political partnership with Frank Stronach. Newspapers have speculated that the wealthy businessman – who founded car parts manufacturer Magna International in the 1950s – could subsidise the BZÖ after he spoke about plans to invest “several million Euros […]
The government wants to crack down on illegal companies. Nineteen people were found guilty of various business crimes after being exposed by a special task force since April 2010. The investigative group of police officers, experts on cross-country corruption and labour market developments was established by Social Democratic (SPÖ) Labour Minister Rudolf Hundstorfer to keep […]
Problem Bears brother killed by car
The brother of the real life Yogi bear who’s driven picnickers wild has been killed after he was hit by a car while crossing a mountain road in the Italian Alps. The European brown bear had been on a motorway in Klausen, near the Austrian border, when it was knocked down, say local wildlife officials. […]