Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Fischer to visit Estonia and Latvia

Austrian President Heinz Fischer is due to start a three-day trip (June 30 to July 2) to Estonia and Latvia with his wife, Margit.

Published: 29 June 2014 20:51 CEST
Fischer to visit Estonia and Latvia
Photo: APA (HBF/Carina Karlovits)

The president will also be accompanied by Minister for Family, Sophie Karmasin, Minister for Economics, Reinhold Mitterlehner, and other political and economic representatives.

On Monday, Fischer will arrive in Estonia's capital, Tallinn, where he will meet with his Estonian counterpart Toomas Hendrik Ilves and Prime Minister Taavi Roivas. Topics of discussion are expected to include the current political situation in Ukraine and relations with Russia.

Around 25 percent of people in Estonia are Russian. Long before Russia's annexation of Crimea, Ilves and Roivas accused central and western European countries of ignoring eastern European countries' warnings about Russia.

Estonia and Latvia are both NATO members.

On Tuesday, the Austrian president will meet with Latvian President Andris Berzins in Riga, the capital of Latvia. Before he returns home on Wednesday, Fischer is due to speak with Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma, and visit several museums.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

POLITICS

Why 1.5 million people can’t vote in Austria’s crucial federal election

Almost one in five people in Austria won’t have a say in the upcoming election, mainly due to the country’s restrictive citizenship laws.

Published: 11 September 2024 10:15 CEST
Updated: 15 September 2024 08:19 CEST
Why 1.5 million people can't vote in Austria's crucial federal election

As Austria prepares for its upcoming National Council elections on September 29th, nearly 1.5 million people living in the country will be unable to participate despite being of voting age, Austrian media has reported.

This group, which represents around 19 percent of the population aged 16 and over, is largely composed of residents who do not hold Austrian citizenship.

While Austria has some of the most restrictive citizenship laws in the world, the election will still see some new eligible voters—particularly descendants of Nazi regime victims—casting their ballots for the first time, thanks to a 2019 amendment to the citizenship law that made the naturalisation process less restrictive for these cases. Among them is British actor Stephen Fry, whose grandmother fled Austria to escape Nazi persecution.

READ ALSO: Austria improves nationality law for descendants of Nazi victims

Over the past two decades, the number of residents not eligible to vote has more than doubled, from around 9 percent in 2002 to 19 percent today. Of the 1.5 million residents unable to vote, about half are citizens of other EU countries. While they are allowed to vote in EU elections, they are excluded from Austria’s national elections.

This growing number of non-voters contrasts with the shrinking pool of eligible voters. Despite having around 6.3 million eligible voters, Austria’s stringent naturalisation process means that only a small fraction of its long-term foreign residents can (or want to) attain citizenship and the right to vote.

READ ALSO: What makes Austrian citizenship so hard to get?

Who is eligible for citizenship in Austria?

Currently in Austria, if someone wants to take up citizenship via naturalisation they have to undergo an extensive and expensive process and fulfil specific criteria.

Generally, there needs to be at least 10 years of lawful and uninterrupted residence in Austria. But there are exceptions for those with citizenship of an EU or EEA country, those born in Austria, or married to an Austrian, for example.

The main hurdles, however, include having to give up any other citizenships, as Austria doesn’t allow dual citizenship in naturalisation cases with few exceptions, and paying a high fee, which depends on the municipality.

What’s at stake?

The elections will determine the composition of the National Council, Austria’s parliament. The far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) is currently leading in the polls, followed by the centre-right Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP). The results could significantly change the country’s political landscape.

While many are still unable to vote, Austria’s decision to grant citizenship to descendants of Nazi regime victims has (slightly) expanded the voter base. 

Under this provision, around 27,800 people, mostly living abroad, have regained Austrian citizenship. The Foreign Ministry has encouraged these new citizens to participate in the elections.

SHOW COMMENTS