Austria secures 14bn double budget after fierce fiscal haggling
Austria’s finance minister secures €14 billion double budget for 2027/28 after last-minute haggling over every million
Austria’s Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer (SPÖ) finalized negotiations for the €14 billion double budget for 2027/28 on Saturday, but the accompanying budget law—critical for implementing planned savings—remains unresolved, revealing intense disputes over spending cuts. Fiscal Council chief Christoph Badelt told ORF’s *Pressestunde* on Sunday that the delay underscores how "every million must be fought for," even after the budget’s formal conclusion .
The budget’s approval follows persistent warnings from Badelt that Austria’s consolidation efforts fall short of fiscal targets. While Marterbauer’s office has not disclosed the deficit figures, Badelt previously argued that the government’s savings plans are insufficient to address structural imbalances, a claim echoed in *Die Presse* . The double budget covers two years, a rarity in Austrian fiscal planning, and is expected to include measures to curb rising public debt.
In parallel, Bulgaria faces an imminent excessive deficit procedure, with the European Commission set to trigger the process on June 3. Labour Minister Nataliya Efremova confirmed the country must slash budget expenditures to comply with EU fiscal rules, though no specific cuts have been announced . Meanwhile, the Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Andrej Babiš blamed its budget deficit for the country’s failure to meet NATO’s 2% GDP defense spending target this year, despite claims his government is doing "everything possible" to meet the alliance’s requirements .
The Austrian budget’s passage comes as fiscal pressures mount across Europe, with Romania also at risk of a credit downgrade to "junk" status, which could trigger an IMF bailout, according to analyst Cristian Grosu. He warned that Romania’s economic model—fueled by debt and imports—has reached its limits, heightening the urgency for structural reforms . Against this backdrop, Austria’s budget negotiations reflect broader tensions between austerity demands and political resistance to deep spending cuts.
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