EU-India deal could mean 5,000 more industrial jobs in Austria
Austria could gain around 5,000 industrial jobs if exports to India rise sharply after the EU and India agreed on a comprehensive trade deal, according to an analysis cited by ORF. The EU Commission has pointed to benefits including reducing dependencies, while also aiming to boost growth and jobs.
The UniCredit Bank Austria analysis says about 5,000 industrial jobs in Austria already depend on demand from India. Economist Robert Schwarz said a doubling of exports could mean a similar increase in jobs, with Upper Austria and Styria expected to see the biggest gains.
The analysis also argues that removing tariffs could double the industrial value added from business with India to around €650 million a year. It says Austria exported €1.3 billion in goods to India in 2024, with about €650 million remaining in Austria as industrial value added, based on OECD data.
Fran Drescher to attend Vienna Opera Ball with Jacqueline Lugner
US actress Fran Drescher will accompany Jacqueline Lugner to the Vienna Opera Ball on February 12th, according to ORF Vienna. Lugner told the APA that bringing Drescher to Vienna had been a long-held plan, and Drescher said in an Instagram video message that she was looking forward to returning to the city.
Bringing celebrities to the Opera Ball was a major tradition of Austrian entrepreneur and magnate Richard Lugner, Jacqueline's father, who died in 2024 at age 91.
Drescher became internationally known in the 1990s for her leading role in the sitcom “The Nanny”, in which she played the character Fran Fine across six seasons. The report says the series is known in more than 100 countries and won multiple awards, including an Emmy.
Drescher has appeared in Austria before, including as a guest at the “Dancer Against Cancer” gala ball in 2010 and the Life Ball in 2009. Entrepreneur Karl Guschlbauer is expected to attend the Opera Ball with Sharon Stone.
Semester break travel starts early as Vienna and Lower Austria pupils get report cards
Pupils in Vienna and Lower Austria receive their report cards on Friday, an unofficial marker for the start of the semester break travel rush, according to Kurier. The semester holidays officially begin on Monday, February 2nd, but many families start their trips this weekend.
The ÖAMTC warned that traffic will pick up from late Friday afternoon, especially on Vienna’s main exits, with a string of congestion hotspots expected on Saturday on routes towards ski areas. The start of winter school holidays in parts of Germany, and in some regions of the Czech Republic, could add to traffic on Austrian roads.
Vienna to close Hietzing maternity ward and shift births to Ottakring
Vienna is planning to close the maternity ward at Hietzing Clinic as part of a wider specialisation drive, with the last baby expected to be born there in mid-February 2027, according to Kronen Zeitung. About 5 babies are still born there each day.
Registrations will be accepted until the middle of the year, after which Ottakring Clinic will become the nearest municipal option for expectant mothers in the west of the city. Hietzing is the only maternity ward in the city’s health network without a neonatology specialisation.
Hietzing will increasingly focus on hormonal conditions and women’s cancers, with no expected impact on bed capacity. Hietzing medical director Wolfgang Huf is quoted as saying that higher case numbers improve treatment quality, and he pointed to “the possibility to turn deadly diseases into chronic diseases”.
What’s happening in Austria today
Chancellor Christian Stocker is scheduled to give a televised address on “the situation in Austria” during a “ZIB Spezial” on ORF 2 and ORF ON at 11:10 am.
In parliament, the standing subcommittee of the Audit Committee is due to meet at 10 am in Vienna. The agenda includes a request to examine state-funded payments to NGOs and similar bodies, including subsidies and service contracts, covering 2019 to 2024 and 2024 to 2025.
Several transport and travel disruptions are flagged for Friday, including S80 restrictions between Wien Hauptbahnhof and Wien Aspern Nord until 7:10 pm, and U6 trains towards Floridsdorf not stopping at Tscherttegasse. In Graz, Holding Graz expects short stoppages and tram diversions around 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm due to a demonstration, and bus line 30 is diverted due to a road closure.
Vienna is forecast to stay mostly cloudy with temperatures around 0C to 4C through the day while Carinthia’s avalanche service rates danger as level 4 (high) for the full day.
Coming up later on The Local
We will be looking at what readers say it really takes to get by in Austria, from the need to advocate for yourself in a doctor’s surgery to the pressures around residence permits for non-EU spouses, language tests, raising children bilingually, and why some foreign residents say they are considering leaving.
Vocabulary
die Wertschöpfung – value added generated in the economy
der Zoll – customs duty, tariff
die Semesterferien – semester break, school holiday week
der Opernball – Vienna Opera Ball
die Klinik – clinic, hospital
If you have any questios about life in Austria, ideas for articles, or news tips for The Local, you can contact us at news@thelocal.at or leave a comment below.
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