People’s Party (ÖVP) Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner has defended the plan to finalise the talks for the government’s transparency package this year. Mikl-Leitner underlined today (Fri) that the various planned draft bills would come into force only next year anyway. She promised that her cabinet and the team of negotiators assigned by the Social Democrats […]
Officials in Salzburg are dealing with a flood of demand at passport offices after a campaign by the city to raise awareness of new passport regulations. After the 15th of June children may no longer travel on their parents’ passports according to the new EU-wide ruling of one person, one passport. All new travel documents […]
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 […]
Kids are being offered the chance to get some hands on experience about how some of Austria’s home grown specialities are created on a variety of courses offered to schools by HerzBergLand tourism. Tourism general manager Markus Leitner said there were 3 and 5 day courses on offer at a variety of locations ranging from […]
Johanna Mikl-Leitner has defended the government’s disputed pension system agenda. The interior minister dismissed accusations that the recently presented budget consolidation agreement featured too many open questions. Mikl-Leitner told Die Presse that substantial structural reforms would be achieved if the average retirement age rises from the current 58 to 61 or 62 in 2020. The […]
The number of xenophobic felonies is increasing. The federal interior ministry announced yesterday (Tues) that police and prosecutors registered 580 breaches of law with xenophobic, far-right, racist, islamophobic and anti-Semitic background last year, 28 per cent more than in the previous year. The ministry – which is headed by People’s Party (ÖVP) official Johanna Mikl-Leitner […]
A German politician has been accused of acting “bizarrely and hysterically” by calling on his fellow countrymen to shun Denmark this summer in favour of Austria. Jörg-Uwe Hahn, the minister for European affairs in the German state of Hessen, suggested Germans willing to go abroad this summer should pick Poland or Austria due to Denmark’s […]
An internationally operating group of hackers have crashed the websites of two political parties in Austria. The homepage of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) depicted the logo of the group called Anonymous last night (Thurs/Fri). The internet representation of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the page of SPÖ Chancellor Werner Faymann were unavailable as well. Referring […]
A leading Social Democrat (SPÖ) has suggested business bosses should not earn more than the president. Josef Leitner, who heads the SPÖ’s branch in the province of Upper Austria, said today (Thurs) CEOs of companies in which the state holds stakes could have their wages cut owing to the volatile economic climate. The left-winger argued […]
People’s Party (ÖVP) Interior Minister Johanna Mikl-Leitner has revealed intentions to implement stricter laws after an alleged organiser of trips to terror camps in Pakistan was put in detention. The minister explained today (Fri) she will meet ÖVP Justice Minister Beatrix Karl for talks over the issue. Mikl-Leitner – who was sworn in last April […]