Talks are resuming in Vienna this week between Iran and the West to try and come to an agreement over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme and trade sanctions placed on the country by the United States and Europe. Several rounds of talks have taken place over the past six months and are some of the […]
A leading Austrian economist has caused controversy by questioning the government’s stance about how to deal with ailing bank Hypo Alpe Adria. Professor Karl Aiginger, who heads up think tank WIFO and is Professor of Economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, said the government were too quick to completely reject the […]
By Rob Hyde in Vienna Former Immofinanz director Kark Petrikovics and ex-lobbyist Peter Hochegger are set to appear in court in a row over illegal commissions from the sale of state owned properties. The hearing, centred around the alleged commissions received of 9.9 million Euro paid during the privatisation of construction giant, Buwog, are now […]
Austria’s national bank governor (OeNB) Ewald Nowotny has come out in favour of a “Bad Bank” model to solve the problems of the Hypo Alpe Adria (HGAA) bank. The bank in Carinthia was at the centre of a scandal after it was revealed that it had been involved in a number of questionable activities including […]
The civil case of the city of Linz, Upper Austria, against the Bawag bank about the swap deal will start on 24 May. The maximum amount of damage for Linz could be as much as 417 million Euros in the worst case. The city of Linz will send its financial director, the former state traffic […]
Future teachers will get their knowledge directly from farms. Students of teacher training colleges will learn practical things about how modern agriculture works. They will be able to teach their future students. The project “School on Farms” has already been established. Future teachers will now go to farms in order to fill gaps in their […]
There is a huge amount of people who are addicted to gambling in Styria. One of these is a 38-year-old father. He has huge debts and is now suing the manufacturer Novomatic who makes slot machines. There are 60,000 to 80,000 people addicted to gambling in Styria, said the head of the KPÖ, Claudia Klimt-Weithaler. […]
The ÖVP state parliament club is attempting to increase the pressure against fracking in the area around Bodensee, Western Austria. The aim of this is to prevent fracking in the drainage area of the Bodensee drinking water reservoir at the state, national and EU-level. The Green Party has severe doubts regarding the issue, which was […]
The financial scandal in Salzburg has been hotly debated since last December. Many people lost their trust in the government and this has led to early elections on 5 May. The former financial adviser Wolfgang Eisl (ÖVP) issued a letter of attorney ten years ago, which allowed three state servants to make risky financial deals. […]
For the first time, alpine associations will receive money from the tourism fund of the state of Salzburg for the maintenance of their mountain cabins. The “Alpine Club” is pleased but expects to get more subsidies from the public. The mountain huts of the alpine associations in Salzburg will receive 50,000 Euros subsidies per year […]