The President of the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV), Georg Knill, sees the threat of “production cutbacks and unemployment in Austria unless countermeasures are taken consistently and quickly. The government is called upon to act as quickly as possible and to get the announced aid on the way.”
Specifically, the IV calls for the subsidy to be increased to at least EUR 2.5 billion and extended until next year. According to the IV, a reform of the electricity market is also needed in the medium term, in which the merit order system, in which the most expensive power plant determines the gas price, will be further developed. “It’s up to the EU Commission to present a corresponding model quickly,” said Knill.
The Economic Provincial Councils from Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Styria also spoke out in a joint broadcast on Sunday for rapid economic aid for all domestic companies. Yesterday, Saturday, the Chamber of Commerce had already pushed for quick relief and criticized the missing guideline.
In June, the Ministry of Economics announced a relief package for companies amounting to 1 billion euros, and in July the law for the energy cost subsidy was passed. Economics and Labor Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) wants to present details of the subsidy in the next few days, he announced this week in an interview with the APA. The design of the guideline is currently in progress. According to Kocher, however, it must be approved by Brussels, so there are still a few weeks to go before an application can be made.
Source: Nachrichten
