Austria

On 3 March President Van der Bellen swore in a new Austrian Federal Government formed by the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) and the NEOS led by Federal Chancellor Stocker (ÖVP), in the first ever three-party coalition

After more than 40 years, the deposit for reusable glass bottles has been increased earlier this month from 9 cents (previously 1,2 Schillings) to 20 cents; brewery products are the most commonly sold in glass bottles

With the start of the tendering process for online casino licences, online gambling operators expect an end to the decades-long gambling monopoly and the opening of the online market

According to data from Austrian Wine Marketing Board, the wine exports in 2024 are expected to decrease from the previous year's record figures; for the first 9 months of 2024, export sales registered -5,1% in value to €175,3 million

The liberal party NEOS announced the abandonment of negotiations to form a coalition government together with the centre-right People's Party and the centre-left Social Democratic Party; in September the extreme right failed to form a coalition government

The Austrian Cultural Forum in Beijing and the Austrian Embassy in China recently opened an art exhibition in Beijing entitled Vienna Calling

The government has initiated an economic support programme for Syrian nationals in Austria who want to return to their country, which mainly consists in the delivery of 1000 euros in cash and practical advice and assistance

The Austrian statistical office reported that the country's GDP contracted for the sixth consecutive quarter in the July-September period, continuing the recessive trend that began in Q2 2023

Austria has experienced an early winter surprise as a cold front swept across the country, bringing snow to both mountainous and lowland areas; passes in Tyrol that had been closed for some hours due to heavy snowfall have been reopened

A group of Jewish students on Friday prevented the first speaker of Austria's far-right parliament from laying a wreath at the Holocaust memorial, accusing him of 'spitting in the face of our ancestors'

Austria's largest construction group, STRABAG SE, has been fined 2,79 million euros due to cartel allegations; the German Federal Cartel Office has target its subsidiary based in Cologne for illegal bidding with the renovation of the Zoobrücke bridge

Austria is one of the EU countries with strictest rules for foreigners wishing to obtain citizenship; more than 750.000 people who have been legally resident in the territory for more than ten years still do not hold an Austrian passport

Innio Group reported that it commissioned a 1 MW hydrogen cogeneration plant in Austria at the beginning of the heating season