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Voglauer sounds the alarm: Massive cuts in funding for ethnic groups!
Olga Voglauer criticizes massive cuts in funding for ethnic groups in 2025 and 2026 and calls for reforms to protect minorities.
Voglauer sounds the alarm: Massive cuts in funding for ethnic groups!
The Greens' minority group spokeswoman, Olga Voglauer, sharply criticized the planned cuts in funding for the minority groups for 2025 and 2026. Despite the importance of the current commemorative year, which honors the end of Nazi terror and the 50th anniversary of the National Minorities Act, Voglauer sees the cuts as unacceptable. In 2025, the funding will be reduced by 189,000 euros compared to the previous year, with 89,000 euros less being provided for “other grants” and 100,000 euros less for “intercultural funding”. For 2026, the savings even add up to 599,000 euros, which means 568,000 euros less in “other subsidies” compared to 2024. Voglauer is therefore calling for diversity and minority protection to be strengthened in Austria.
In a further statement, she notes that the current cuts contradict the positive statements made by Minister Claudia Plakolm about the promotion of ethnic groups in the National Council. She criticizes the lack of implementation of key demands of the ethnic groups, including the establishment of common schools and the provision of bilingual education. “Diversity is a strength and not a cost factor,” emphasizes Voglauer. She also appeals to the minister to stop the cuts and adjust existing subsidies to inflation.
Funding and its distribution
In 2023, the Federal Chancellery distributed a total of 7.71 million euros in funding for ethnic groups. The funding was distributed as follows:
| ethnic group | Amount (€) | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Slovenian ethnic group | 2,600,000 | 33.73 |
| Croatian ethnic group | 2,140,000 | 27.74 |
| Hungarian ethnic group | 924,500 | 11.99 |
| Czech ethnic group | 762,825 | 9.89 |
| Roma ethnic group | 760,090 | 9.85 |
| Slovak ethnic group | 180,775 | 2.34 |
| Cross-ethnic projects | 344,000 | 4.46 |
A total of 172 recipients were supported, including 84 from the Slovenian ethnic group. The projects supported included an information and awareness campaign on multilingualism and an exhibition on the history of the Roma in Austria.
Future challenges and priorities
The promotion of ethnic groups, which is administered by the Federal Chancellery, aims to secure the existence of the ethnic groups and their cultural characteristics. Intercultural projects that promote coexistence between different ethnic groups are also supported. The general conditions for funding and the possibility of submitting an application are accessible via the federal government's online transparency portal.
The application for minority group funding 2025 has been completed and the accounting documents must be submitted by January 31, 2026. In the next few years it will be crucial to further advance the goals of the ethnic groups in order to ensure that cultural diversity is recognized as a valuable asset in Austria.
Olga Voglauer is therefore not only calling for more support for the ethnic groups, but also for a comprehensive reform of the ethnic groups law in order to meet the needs and challenges of the affected communities.
For detailed information on funding, bundeskanzleramt.gv.at offers comprehensive resources on the various aspects of funding for ethnic groups.
As parlament.gv.at notes, ensuring the needs of ethnic groups remains a key challenge in Austrian society, especially in the context of the planned cuts.
For further information on current developments and the situation of the ethnic groups in Austria, you can also find ots.at as an important source of information.