Stelzer demands guilty covers for the federal government: Upper Austria as a model!

Stelzer demands guilty covers for the federal government: Upper Austria as a model!

The governor of Upper Austria, Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP), has proposed the introduction of a civil coordination at the federal level, which is based on the experiences of his federal state. As reports Kleinezeitung.at, this debt covers in Upper Austria should be set to 25 percent of the income. This step follows the introduction of a debt brake in 2018, which was the first federal state in Austria and which should contribute to compliance with the EU fiscal rules.

Stelzer emphasizes the need to put the state finances in order and prevent future debt. Due to the current economic challenges, Austria will have to make significant savings in the coming years in order to meet the EU requirements. Around 6.3 billion euros are to be saved for 2023 in order to be able to comply with the financial framework. According to meinzirk.at, Upper Austria generated a Maastricht surplus last year and has a significantly lower debt rate with 12.62 percent than the national average of around 50 percent.

financial challenges and obligation to invest

Stelzer also demands that the federal government provide sufficient funds for new tasks, especially in the areas of care, health, childcare and education. At the same time, he emphasizes the importance of investments in competitiveness and future projects. In 2023, Upper Austria invested a total of 1.5 billion euros in the transport infrastructure, in residential construction and in healthcare.

Another point that Stelzer appeals is the importance of public transport connections, especially in rural regions. He criticizes the deletion of secondary lanes announced by the ÖBB and refers to a attracting package for these railway lines that had already been decided in 2019. The governor sees the need to maintain and expand the mobility offers for commuters.

EU fiscal rules and economic growth

The recently increasing sovereign debt in Austria is often attributed to the turquoise-green government. As the economist Prof. Elisabeth Springler explains in an interview, the government debt is not negative per se as long as they are covered by assets and used for meaningful investments. However, Austria has crossed the fiscal boundaries in recent years and will have difficulty complying with the EU fiscal rules that prohibit a public deficit of over 3% of GDP.

In 2023, the public deficit in Austria was around 12 billion euros, which corresponds to 2.6% of GDP. Estimates of 19.1 billion euros are expected for 2024. According to the Kontrast.at, Austria has to take a total of 19 billion euros more to meet or save the EU requirements and to avoid an impending crisis as part of an excessive deficit procedure.