Vienna State Parliament: Most important topics of the session on June 26, 2025!

Vienna State Parliament: Most important topics of the session on June 26, 2025!

On Thursday, June 26, 2025, the second meeting of the Vienna State Parliament will take place at 9 a.m. in the state parliament and municipal council meeting room. The session will deal with various current topics, including the environmental impact assessment process for the controversial 'Heumarkt Neu' project, the provision of federal funds for additional German teachers in Viennese schools and measures against school and kindergarten shootings. The contribution of the Vienna data centers to achieving climate goals and the expansion of direct democracy through district surveys and binding district votes are also on the agenda. This information was provided by the City of Vienna and is part of the comprehensive coverage of the meeting.

After the question time there will be a current hour in which the ÖVP will put a topic up for debate: “The school year ends as it began: chaos in filling positions, failure to obtain funds for German language support, etc. - SPÖ & Neos are letting school management, teachers and students down!”. The meeting will be accompanied by a live stream on the website wien.gv.at, where future updates and information about the meeting will also be available.

Environmental impact assessment and agricultural planning

A central topic in the context of the meeting is environmental impact assessment, which will also be included in the discussion. According to the regulations, new systems must meet certain thresholds in order to be approved. The threshold for new laying hens and turkeys is 48,000. Existing systems are not affected by this regulation. This information comes from the Environmental Impact Assessment Guidelines, which play an important role in agricultural strategy.

If there are areas worthy of protection, stricter thresholds apply. For example, only 40,000 places are taken into account for laying hens. Such regulations are crucial to minimize the ecological footprint in the region and achieve environmental protection goals.

Current climate goals and challenges

The debates in the Vienna state parliament take place against the background of ongoing discussions about Austria's climate policy. The report on greenhouse gas emissions to 2050 raised some pressing questions. According to the latest study, Austria's emissions have been reduced by 13% since 2005, but there are fears of a significant failure to achieve the EU's 2030 targets. Greenpeace has criticized the government because the ambitious climate goals are not to be achieved until 2050, which represents an unacceptable delay.

The government has set itself the goal of becoming climate neutral by 2040 and thus achieving net emissions of zero. However, this is made more difficult by internal conflicts between the governing parties, the ÖVP and the Greens. Critics, including SPÖ and NEOS, are calling for the Renewable Heat Act to be passed quickly in order to close the existing gaps in climate protection.