Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Friday
Reaction to end of mandatory vaccination law, Austria classified as 'medium risk', Austrians unenthusiastic about EU expansion and more news from Austria on Friday.
Reaction to end of mandatory Covid vaccination law
As The Local reported on Thursday, Austria has decided to scrap its mandatory Covid vaccination law, with health minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) saying the omicron variant had “changed the situation”. He said the law making it obligatory to be vaccinated had opened up divisions in society, and abolishing mandatory vaccination meant a step towards normality and learning to live with Covid-19. The "Austrian Corona Panel" research project, which has been researching the pandemic since the beginning of the Corona crisis, will also be discontinued.
Austria’s opposition parties have had mixed reactions to the news. Left wing SPÖ party health spokesman Phillip Kucher described the u-turn as a climax of “government failure”. The decision was well received by the far right FPÖ party, which has been pushing for an end to compulsory vaccination for months. According to the liberal party NEOS, the Government “screwed up” compulsory vaccination from the start, broadcaster ORF reports.
READ MORE: Austria to scrap mandatory covid vaccination law
Austria classified as ‘medium risk’ again
Austria has been re-classified as yellow or medium risk by the country’s Covid-19 traffic light commission, due to the increasing number of infections in the current coronavirus wave.
The federal states of Burgenland, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Vienna are also rated as medium risk. The federal states of Carinthia, Upper Austria and Styria remain green-yellow, or low risk.
READ MORE: 11,000 new cases: Will Austria reintroduce restrictions as infection numbers rise?
Tyrol set for state elections in autumn
Tyrol looks set to hold state elections on September 25th. Following the resignation of Governor Günther Platter (ÖVP), the state parliament will meet in the morning for a special session to decide on its early dissolution. Broadcaster ORF reports the coalition parties ÖVP and Greens will find the necessary two-thirds majority of the 36 MPs to call an early election.
Majority of Austrians do not support the expansion of the EU
While the majority of EU citizens support accelerated EU expansion because of the war in Ukraine, in Austria, however, the mood is different, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the EU Parliament. Half of those surveyed are against the rapid admission of new countries, 45 percent are in favour and five percent are undecided.
Only in Slovakia (36 percent), Bulgaria (40 percent) and Slovenia (44 percent) do fewer respondents than in Austria support accelerated admission of new countries to the EU.
Nehammer says Bosnia-Herzegovina has a chance to get EU accession candidate status
Bosnia-Herzegovina could still get the official EU accession candidate status this year if it implements important electoral law and constitutional reforms, said Austria’s Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer after discussions at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. According to the Chancellor, if Bosnia-Herzegovina now completes the 14 reform points it has been asked to address, EU accession negotiations would be possible.
Failed ‘Kaufhaus Österreich’ project winds up with losses of almost one million euros.
The "Kaufhaus Österreich" project launched during 2020 under the former Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck (ÖVP) is to be ended on July 1st. It was originally intended as an online retailer directory designed to bring online business to local businesses when shops were closed during the pandemic. Then the page was changed into an information platform for traders. The Digital State Secretariat estimates the cost of the failed project at 946,068.54 euros, Der Standard newspaper reports.
Increasing numbers of accidents on Vienna’s e-scooters
In Vienna, the number of traffic accidents involving e-scooters is increasing, especially involving male drivers aged under 40. Since the beginning of the year, the police have documented 50 traffic accidents, including a 13-year-old teenager who suffered serious head injuries when he collided with a tram in Favoriten, broadcaster ORF reports. Children and young people are allowed to drive an e-scooter alone from the age of twelve and if they have a cycling license. People are advised to wear helmets and bright clothing when using the scooters.
Comments
See Also
Reaction to end of mandatory Covid vaccination law
As The Local reported on Thursday, Austria has decided to scrap its mandatory Covid vaccination law, with health minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) saying the omicron variant had “changed the situation”. He said the law making it obligatory to be vaccinated had opened up divisions in society, and abolishing mandatory vaccination meant a step towards normality and learning to live with Covid-19. The "Austrian Corona Panel" research project, which has been researching the pandemic since the beginning of the Corona crisis, will also be discontinued.
Austria’s opposition parties have had mixed reactions to the news. Left wing SPÖ party health spokesman Phillip Kucher described the u-turn as a climax of “government failure”. The decision was well received by the far right FPÖ party, which has been pushing for an end to compulsory vaccination for months. According to the liberal party NEOS, the Government “screwed up” compulsory vaccination from the start, broadcaster ORF reports.
READ MORE: Austria to scrap mandatory covid vaccination law
Austria classified as ‘medium risk’ again
Austria has been re-classified as yellow or medium risk by the country’s Covid-19 traffic light commission, due to the increasing number of infections in the current coronavirus wave.
The federal states of Burgenland, Lower Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Vienna are also rated as medium risk. The federal states of Carinthia, Upper Austria and Styria remain green-yellow, or low risk.
READ MORE: 11,000 new cases: Will Austria reintroduce restrictions as infection numbers rise?
Tyrol set for state elections in autumn
Tyrol looks set to hold state elections on September 25th. Following the resignation of Governor Günther Platter (ÖVP), the state parliament will meet in the morning for a special session to decide on its early dissolution. Broadcaster ORF reports the coalition parties ÖVP and Greens will find the necessary two-thirds majority of the 36 MPs to call an early election.
Majority of Austrians do not support the expansion of the EU
While the majority of EU citizens support accelerated EU expansion because of the war in Ukraine, in Austria, however, the mood is different, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey commissioned by the EU Parliament. Half of those surveyed are against the rapid admission of new countries, 45 percent are in favour and five percent are undecided.
Only in Slovakia (36 percent), Bulgaria (40 percent) and Slovenia (44 percent) do fewer respondents than in Austria support accelerated admission of new countries to the EU.
Nehammer says Bosnia-Herzegovina has a chance to get EU accession candidate status
Bosnia-Herzegovina could still get the official EU accession candidate status this year if it implements important electoral law and constitutional reforms, said Austria’s Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer after discussions at the EU summit in Brussels on Thursday. According to the Chancellor, if Bosnia-Herzegovina now completes the 14 reform points it has been asked to address, EU accession negotiations would be possible.
Failed ‘Kaufhaus Österreich’ project winds up with losses of almost one million euros.
The "Kaufhaus Österreich" project launched during 2020 under the former Economics Minister Margarete Schramböck (ÖVP) is to be ended on July 1st. It was originally intended as an online retailer directory designed to bring online business to local businesses when shops were closed during the pandemic. Then the page was changed into an information platform for traders. The Digital State Secretariat estimates the cost of the failed project at 946,068.54 euros, Der Standard newspaper reports.
Increasing numbers of accidents on Vienna’s e-scooters
In Vienna, the number of traffic accidents involving e-scooters is increasing, especially involving male drivers aged under 40. Since the beginning of the year, the police have documented 50 traffic accidents, including a 13-year-old teenager who suffered serious head injuries when he collided with a tram in Favoriten, broadcaster ORF reports. Children and young people are allowed to drive an e-scooter alone from the age of twelve and if they have a cycling license. People are advised to wear helmets and bright clothing when using the scooters.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.