This is expected in April. The Commission had already stated in January that it would reassess Austria's budget situation then. This will be based on the 2024 budget outcome and the measures presented by the Austrian authorities in the draft budget plan and the medium-term fiscal-structural plan. These should be submitted to the Commission by the end of April.

Notification in Letter

The European Union had declared in January that it would not initiate a deficit procedure against Austria. This was communicated by the responsible EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis to Finance Minister Gunter Mayr in a letter. The measures presented by the blue-black coalition negotiators could be sufficient to bring the deficit below the Maastricht threshold of three percent of GDP, it said. Specifically, around 6.3 billion are to be saved in 2025. This is intended to meet the EU Commission's required 3-percent threshold (of economic output) for the budget deficit.

Now, an "implementation of the measures" must take place, a spokesperson stated on Thursday at the EU Commission's daily midday press conference in Brussels. The authority still expects to receive the aforementioned information from Vienna by the end of April. The assessment would then take place in May. He also emphasized that "the path remains the same for now," but Brussels will "continue to monitor the situation in Austria daily."

Differences of Opinion on EU Deficit Procedure

The question of whether a deficit procedure should be avoided at all previously divided the ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS. The Reds would have been in favor of accepting such a procedure. Some experts, including Wifo head Gabriel Felbermayr and IHS director Holger Bonin, had also advocated for a procedure instead of a radical austerity course. A deficit procedure generally offers more flexibility when extraordinary economic or financial crises occur.

(APA/Red)

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