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Today in Austria For Members

Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday

Emma Midgley
Emma Midgley - [email protected]
Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Tuesday
It's going to be sunny and cold today in Austria. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Every weekday, The Local brings you an English-language summary of the news you need to know in Austria.

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Happy International Women's Day

It's international women's day in Austria, and the weather is looking sunny. In honour of the date, Defence Minister Claudia Tanner (ÖVP) will visit female soldiers.

There will also be a "Take Back The Streets" rally in Vienna later, with demonstrations against sexism, transphobia and patriarchal violence.

READ MORE: Violence against women in the spotlight in Austria after horrific killings

Calls to delay Austria's CO2 tax

Austria's Chamber of Commerce (WKO) has called for Austria's CO2 tax to be postponed until at least 2023. A tax of 30 euros per tonne of CO2 is planned to be introduced on July 1st. Revenues from the tax will be used to pay Austria's climate bonuses.

Green Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler told broadcaster ORF that the ÖVP party, which governs Austria in coalition with the Greens, should not be scared off by the Chamber of Commerce. He said the Ukraine conflict meant it was even more important to bring about the transition to green energy.

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ÖVP politician Karlheinz Kopf, while calling for a delay to the introduction of the tax, also said it was important to put a price on the environmental costs of greenhouse gas emissions. WKO President Harald Mahrer,  however, argued that the prices are already high and that market mechanisms are taking effect.

Vice Chancellor also supports Austria's neutrality

As The Local reported on Monday, Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) has spoken out to re-affirm Austria’s commitment to neutrality in international affairs amid the decision to support European Union sanctions on Russia.

The Green Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler has also committed to Austria's neutrality. Speaking on Austria's ZIB2 programme he said its neutrality was "not obsolete" and did not rule out Austria's participation in peacekeeping measures.

READ MORE: Nehammer on Russian sanctions: 'Austria is and will remain neutral'

New Health Minister to be sworn in

Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen will swear in the new Social and Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) on Tuesday morning. The signing in was nearly delayed after Van der Bellen had contact with a person who later tested positive for Covid-19.

Following three negative tests, the appointment will go ahead as planned at eleven o'clock. The previous health minister, Wolfgang Mückstein, resigned after saying he was exhausted and tired of living with constant threats. 

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READ MORE: Austria health minster quits citing exhaustion and threats

Ex-foreign minister refuses to give up Russian oil job

Austria's ex-Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl (FPÖ) does not want to give up her position on the supervisory board of the Russian state oil company Rosneft, she told the German TV channel RTL on Monday.

In the interview Kneissl said she was  a "political refugee who had had to leave Austria "due to the many hostilities" she encountered due to her closeness to Vladimir Putin , broadcaster ORF reports. The ex-Minister made headlines when Putin attended her wedding in 2018.

By contrast,  ex-Chancellor Wolfgang Schlüssel (ÖVP) announced he would stop working on the supervisory board of the Russian oil company Lukoil on Friday following criticism, the broadcaster reported. 

 

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