Austria's willingness to alert: austerity measures threaten security!

Austria's willingness to alert: austerity measures threaten security!

The Austrian government is under pressure because the deficit is above the Maastricht limit of three percent of GDP defined by the EU. In order to counteract this, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) announced on Tuesday that all ministries will have to reduce their material expenses by 15 percent. Despite these savings, Karner emphasized that security must not be affected. However, the police are already afraid of significantly reducing the overtime of their civil servants significantly reducing the overtime of their civil servants. This could have serious consequences for the operational readiness, since in 2024 there were already 2.18 million overtime hours, as reported by the comprehensive savings package

At the same time, the coalition of FPÖ and ÖVP has announced a comprehensive savings package of 6.4 billion euros. The main focus is on the abolition of the climate bonus, which is to generate almost two billion euros in savings. In addition, the ministries should save 1.1 billion euros, which also corresponds to 15 percent of their expenses. The incisions also include the end of tax privilege in photovoltaic modules and higher dividends of sub-state companies. This was seen by the Austria as part of a threatening potential opposite Brussels in order to escape a possible deficit procedure. All measures should also take the citizens directly, since among other things, passport and driver's license fees could skyrocket, while the state revenues are boosted by higher taxes from different areas.

The reactions to these measures are mixed to negative. Environmental organizations criticize the cuts in climate protection measures and speak of a "negligent and counterproductive" proceed. It remains to be seen how the population will react to these profound cuts, especially with regard to the already tense security resources of the police.