Austria is resisting: FPÖ objection to WHO rules!

Austria is resisting: FPÖ objection to WHO rules!

On July 18, 2025, Austria took a significant step by submitting a legal objection to the changes to the World Health Organization (WHO) International Health Regulations. The FPÖ sees this objection as a success of its initiatives, which include, among other things, the petition “STOP WHO Pandemic Treaty”. According to ots.at, thousands of Austrians have already supported the petition, which underpins the public pressure.

Gerhard Kaniak, health spokesman for the FPÖ, was of the opinion that the objection is an important step against a possible disempowerment of nation states in the health sector. The objection does not bind Austria to the new WHO guidelines, and Kaniak criticizes that it was only made for formal reasons. He suspects that the government plans to withdraw the objection as soon as Parliament agrees.

Urgent motion in the National Council

The FPÖ has also submitted an urgent motion to the National Council that is directed against the changes to the International Health Regulations. These changes are intended to place a greater focus on pandemic prevention, and a variety of parties, including ÖVP, SPÖ, NEOS and the Greens, support international cooperation. They emphasize that Austria's sovereignty is not endangered, as the WHO can only make recommendations and not issue binding guidelines, as can be seen from parlament.gv.at.

The FPÖ, on the other hand, remains skeptical and expresses concerns about a possible encroachment on national sovereignty. Peter Wurm from the FPÖ points out the psychological damage that the corona pandemic has left on children. Marie-Christine Giuliani-Sterrer also criticizes that the Minister of Health has a lack of medical knowledge. Dagmar Belakowitsch addresses the deadline of July 19th to object to the changes.

International cooperation and pandemic agreements

In a broader context, WHO member states have agreed on a draft international pandemic agreement to protect against future health crises. According to unric.org, the draft was finalized in Geneva and includes measures to strengthen national health systems and international cooperation in disease prevention. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called this moment historic and highlighted the importance of multilateral cooperation. The agreement preserves national sovereignty as the WHO has no authority to order national laws or actions.

The draft agreement will be presented to the World Health Assembly in May and adoption is scheduled for the upcoming Geneva annual meeting of the 194 WHO members. Amid these developments, it becomes clear that the FPÖ's resistance to the WHO guidelines is based on a broader political and social discourse.