Former Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) refers to the figures of the economic research institutes at the moment at the budget in 2024. “At that time we made the budget for 2024 with songs that Wifo and IHS presented us,” said the EU commissioner in Strasburg on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Statistics Austria published figures on the budget deficit in 2024. With 4.7 percent, this is considerably higher than the previous predictions and the Maastricht value of three percent permitted by the EU. An approaching procedure for EU deficiency is a “responsibility of the federal government,” said Brunner. That is the responsibility for negotiations between Austria and the EU committee.
“Let what economic researchers are present”
According to Brunner, WIFO and IHS predict 1.2 percent of economic growth before 2024. The budget was created on this basis. Subsequently, the predictions had changed: the value was initially changed to minus 0.6 percent and now one percent. This difference increases the deficit by 1 percent.
“As a Minister of Finance you must rely on what the economic researchers are present,” said the Minister of Excimation. Based on this, budgeted; That is a “normal process”. The current Minister of Finance has also confirmed that economic growth had the most effects.
Brunner welcomes measures from the federal government
Since the day before yesterday there have also changed figures for countries, communities and social security, which would also feel the worse economic situation, Brunner emphasized. The economic situation is “very challenging throughout Europe”. He welcomed the measures of the current federal government; The current EU Commissioner mentioned the planned reduction of the financing percentage as an example. With the financial equalization he had created opportunities to make financing more efficient, he emphasized.
Statistics The figures from Austria had taken care of in Austria. Wifo director Gabriel Felbermayr described her as “shocking”. The initial situation “Ernst” and a shortage procedure should no longer be averted to Minister of Finance Markus Marterbauer (Spö). Brunner was already criticized in the autumn of 2024, because the Ministry of Finance increased its prognosis for budget deficit before 2024 in October shortly after the elections of the National Council. Since then, an EU deficiency procedure has been around the corner.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
