First appearance in the Federal Council: New finance minister Gunter Mayr introduces himself

First appearance in the Federal Council: New finance minister Gunter Mayr introduces himself

The week from December 2 to December 6th was an eventful time in the Federal Council. Although government formation after the National Council elections had not yet been completed, meetings of the National Council, the Federal Council and the committees were nevertheless held.

A highlight of this week was the first appearance of the new finance minister Gunter Mayr in the Federal Council. He visited the country chamber for a current hour, in which he presented his plans and ideas for the financial department in front of the MPs. Mayr was recently praised as the successor to Magnus Brunner and thus officially started his term. The visit to the Federal Council was an important moment for the new minister to imagine politics and the public.

Three icclets have also taken place in the Federal Council this week. These were a consequence of the state election in Vorarlberg, in which one of the three Vorarlberg mandates switched from the Greens to the FPÖ. The other two mandates remain with the ÖVP. Through this change, ÖVP and Greens have lost their majority in the country chamber. All three federal councils from Vorarlberg were praised at the meeting on December 5th.

The Federal Council's EU Committee also met to advise the annual report of the European Court of Auditors for the financial year 2023. At the same time, an interparliamentary meeting on the subject of “E-Law: Lessons Learned from a national perspective” took place in Brussels.

The week ended with a meeting of the National Council's Presidential Conference. At this meeting, the agenda for the last National Council meeting was determined this year. The members of the Presidential Conference are made up of the Presidium members of the National Council, the club carpers or their deputies and the parliamentary director.

Overall, the week was shaped by various important events in the Federal Council. However, the coalition negotiations and the upcoming government formation still throw their shadows on parliamentary work. It remains to be seen how the political landscape will develop and what effects this will have on parliamentary work.

Source: parlament.gv.at