New government model: ÖVP and SPÖ focus on future areas!

New government model: ÖVP and SPÖ focus on future areas!

In the midst of the intensive coalition negotiations in Austria, the NEOS are calling for a restructuring of the negotiating groups in order to involve the state governors more closely. After a meeting of the extended party executive board last Sunday, the aim is to switch from the previously created 33 subgroups to five central topic areas. This is intended to improve cooperation with the states, as important topics such as kindergarten, support and distribution of skills are closely linked to the states 5min.at reported.

During the negotiations, the plan is to introduce large and important subject areas without committing to a rigid list of demands. A key point is the reform of the education system, including a second year of kindergarten and the introduction of a secondary school leaving certificate. The NEOS are also of the opinion that measures must be taken in the area of ​​pension provision and on issues such as media funding and ORF reform. During budget planning, the Ministry of Finance has already received informal data on EU consolidation, which will serve as a basis for further decisions regarding the country's financial situation. The EU Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis is pushing for concrete measures to avoid the threat of an excessive deficit procedure, as also stated by app-data.neos.eu was reported.

Structure of the negotiations

The negotiations are organized into seven main groups, so-called “clusters”, with each group led by two main negotiators. In addition to the main negotiators, there are additional negotiators, a coordinator and note takers who document the negotiations. The first meeting of the parties' steering group is scheduled for Tuesday, after the NEOS will hold an internal meeting on Monday to discuss the current status of the negotiations. The budget forecasts point to a deficit of 3.9 percent of GDP in 2024, which underlines the urgency of the talks.