High penalties for Greens, ÖVP and Neos: Party donation shock!

High penalties for Greens, ÖVP and Neos: Party donation shock!

The independent party transparency senate (UPTS) imposed considerable punishments on May 19, 2025 due to inadmissible party donations in connection with social media activities. This decision affects the Greens, the ÖVP and the NEOS. The punishments that are based on a report by the Auditors' courtyard for the Greens amount to over 100,000 euros, while the ÖVP has to pay 50,637 euros and the NEOS will be punished with 70,956 euros.

For the Greens, the highest individual punishment for former Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler, who has to pay 57,803 euros, is followed by the former Minister of Justice Alma Zadić with 40,215 euros. The Greens in Lower Austria are also covered with a penalty of 7,000 euros. In addition to the punishment for Karl Nehammer in the amount of 50,637 euros, the ÖVP must also pay 6,000 euros for late reports from a donation to the Upper Austrian Association of Employees (ÖAAB). For NEOS, the former Viennese mayor Christoph Return is punished with 70,956 euros for inadmissible donations that the municipality of Vienna made available for its social media activities.

Legal ambiguities and future changes

The UPTS found that government agencies bore personnel costs for party political content, which was considered inadmissible party donation. For the Burgenland governor Hans Peter Doskozil from the SPÖ, the procedure was hired, while the parties concerned announced complaint against the punishments. Together with the SPÖ, the parties concerned will strive for a legal new regulation to clarify the existing ambiguities and create a practical legal situation.

The legal framework for party donations are currently unclear, which prompted the Federal Government to work on a new legislative initiative. This is to be adopted promptly in order to determine clear regulations regarding political communication practices in Austria. The Court of Auditors emphasizes that donations of over 165 euros must be reported to the Court of Auditors within four weeks and that individual donations over 540 euros must be published immediately to ensure transparent financial practice.

In recent years, the political parties have repeatedly violated the applicable regulations, which underlines the need for a clear legal basis. Future initiatives are intended to ensure that avoiding inadmissible party donations and the proper report of donations will be better checked.

Vol.at reported that the penalties were imposed against the background of the Court of Auditors, which was determined in the previous year that political content from employees in government agencies were treated properly. Further information on the regulations on the disclosure of party donations can be found on the website of the Invaluation courtyard

The parties concerned seem to be aware of the problem and jointly demand an improvement in the legal framework to ensure transparency in political financing. This could lead to greater control and less violations in the area of party donations in the future.