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LIVING IN AUSTRIA

Neutrality to gymnastics: What issues are Austrians voting on this week?

Austrian citizens will have a chance to sign petitions about neutrality, taxes and gymnastics in schools until March 18th.

Published: 11 March 2024 16:24 CET
Neutrality to gymnastics: What issues are Austrians voting on this week?
A woman enters a polling station in Austria, on September 29, 2019. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP)

What’s happening this week?

From Monday, March 11th until Monday March 18th, Austrian citizens can cast a vote in 14 petitions. They can do so online or in one of the the roughly 2,000 venues nationwide.

The petitions are titled: 

  • Peace through neutrality
  • No to nuclear power greenwashing
  • Abolish party funding
  • Abolish the CO2 tax
  • Abolish energy taxes – referendum
  • Ban glyphosate!
  • Don’t throw food away!
  • Stop the energy price explosion now!
  • Daily gymnastics lesson
  • No NATO accession
  • The intensive care bed capacity expansion referendum
  • No electric car obligation
  • Strengthening Austria’s neutrality
  • Are you clever

What are the main issues on the agenda? 

“Peace through neutrality” explicitly addresses the issue of Austrian neutrality and demands the country’s stance of neutrality is toughened so that there are no Austrian soldiers abroad (currently, they may be sent to peace-keeping operations). It also demands that no foreign military transports through Austria.

READ ALSO: Why isn’t Austria in NATO?

There are two similar petitions. One demands that Austria refrains from joining the military alliance NATO (there are currently no talks for accession) whilst the other is titled “Strengthen Austria’s neutrality.”

Several petitions are aimed at pushing back against green initiatives, such as “Abolish the CO2 tax”, “Abolish energy taxes”, and “No electric car obligation”. 

One of the petitions demands daily gymnastics or physical education classes in Austrian schools.

Finally, a popular (and populist) one called “Are you clever?” wants the government to demand every prospective federal government member pass a test on general knowledge and specific knowledge for their intended area of responsibility before being sworn in.

“The results of these tests should be made available to all citizens in detail,” the petition states.

When will the results be announced, and what will they mean?

Preliminary voting results will be announced on the interior ministry’s website on the evening of March 18th. 

The petitions that receive more than 100,000 signatures must be discussed in parliament, so there will be a broad public debate on many of these matters.

However, that does not mean that Austrian politicians are obliged to vote in favour of these measures – even if they get hundreds of thousands of signatures and a long debate in parliament.

Who can sign the petitions?

Only people with the right to vote for the National Council, Austria’s parliamentary house, can sign the petitions. That means they must be Austrian citizens, over 16 years old, registered as voters, and not excluded from the right to vote. 

The voting can be in person or online, using the government’s authentication app (Austrian ID). Austrians abroad can also sign them online. 

It is worth noting that foreigners, despite having the official authentication app, will not be able to sign any of the petitions. 

READ ALSO: How can foreigners have their say in Austria?

How are the petitions started?

According to the Interior Ministry, “civil representatives” (anyone who is not a government employee) can present a petition to be signed by the Austrian population. However, petitions that would be submitted to the Austrian Parliament need to be about matters that are regulated by federal law – as the Austrian federal government cannot rule on local or regional issues.

There are several criteria they must meet, including an introduction procedure which needs demands the collection of more than 8,400 signatures and the payment of a “cost contribution” of €559.40 to an account of the Ministry by the person behind the petition. A later amount of around € 2,500 is also demanded if the petition is accepted.

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For members

RENTING

Can I get out of a rental contract in Austria?

Have you viewed an apartment in Vienna o elsewhere in Austria and hastily signed a contract? Don't you like the apartment after all? These are your withdrawal rights in Austria.

Published: 23 April 2024 17:24 CEST
Can I get out of a rental contract in Austria?

In Austria, the rental market is highly competitive, with apartments often staying on rental platforms for short periods due to high demand and limited supply. This, coupled with brief apartment visits (sometimes with other prospective tenants) and the pressure to secure a place, can lead to hasty contract signings. 

Understanding your withdrawal rights is essential in such a market.

READ ALSO: Renting in Austria – The key things foreign residents need to know

If you signed a rental contract and then realised you don’t want the place, you might feel stuck in your contract. Austria does have really strict rules on contracts, so that “anyone who signs a rental offer makes a binding declaration that they wish to rent the apartment at a certain rate”, Austria’s Tenants Association says.

The real estate agent will also remind you that you cannot leave your contract, as you signed a contractual agreement (“verbindliches Angebot“, which means a binding offer). But what exactly are your rights then?

It’s all about timing

Basically it’s very tricky and almost impossible to back out after signing a rental contact in Austria.

According to Austria’s Chamber of Labour (AK), Austrian law is on your side – but only in a particular case. 

Under a consumer law that applies to all types of contracts, including rental agreements, you are protected against potential pressure from real estate agents and property owners. If you view an apartment and sign an agreement on the same day, you have the right to withdraw from the contract within the week. Furthermore, if the estate agent fails to inform you of your right to cancel, you can withdraw from the contract within one month.

READ ALSO: Shopping in Austria – What are your consumer rights when purchasing goods?

The Tenants Association is more critical and explains that withdrawal is only possible within the “narrow” limits of the Consumer Protection Act. “If you as a consumer submit your contractual declaration on the same day that you viewed the apartment for the first time, you can withdraw from your contractual declaration in writing within one week.”

If the offer was not signed on the day of the very first viewing, though, there is no right of withdrawal in Austria.

READ ALSO: Tenant or landlord – Who pays which costs in Austria?

If you have the right to do so, the most effective way to withdraw from a rental contract is to do it in writing, preferably by a registered letter, as explained by the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK). This not only provides a clear record of your intent but also empowers you to navigate the legal aspects of the process with confidence. 

If you signed the offer after the viewing, you don’t have the right to withdraw from the contract you signed. In that case, you could ask for a mutual agreement termination, seeking an amicable termination option with the landlord. Otherwise, you’d be bound by the contract, which in Austria usually means you’d have to stay for one year in the apartment and give three months’ notice before leaving.

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