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‘Laughing stock of Europe’: What’s the new crisis to hit Austria’s coalition government?

Austria's environment minister went against the government's will and voted in favour of controversial EU legislation. Chancellor Nehammer now accuses the minister of 'abuse of office'.

Published: 17 June 2024 13:50 CEST
'Laughing stock of Europe': What's the new crisis to hit Austria's coalition government?
Austria's Green Minister of Climate and Environment Leonore Gewessler answers journalists' questions during an Environment ministers council meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels on December 20, 2021. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP)

It’s the latest crisis between centre-right ÖVP and its junior Green coalition partners. This one will make its way up to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), according to statements given by Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) on Monday (17).

This is due to the fact that Austria’s Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler broke with coalition partners to help pass a controversial EU-level law. “I know I will face opposition in Austria on this, but I am convinced that this is the time to adopt this law,” Gewessler told reporters.

The Federal Chancellery promptly responded to Gewessler’s unilateral action: “Austria will bring an action for annulment before the ECJ,” it said. Her vote was “not in line with the domestic will and therefore could not be cast in accordance with the constitution”, the Chancellor’s office said.

READ ALSO: Europe warned it must do more to deal with climate crisis

Gewessler will be charged with suspected abuse of office, ÖVP Secretary General Christian Stocker announced in a press release.

“There is a suspicion that Leonore Gewessler is acting unlawfully and knowingly against the clear guidelines of the Constitutional Service and against the constitution with her approval of the ordinance – this constitutes abuse of office,” Stocker said.

What was voted?

At the core of the discussion is a controversial EU law known as the “EU nature restoration law”. The legislation mandates the restoration of at least 20 percent of the EU’s land and sea areas by 2030 to restore all ecosystems in need by 2050. This landmark bill aims to address the decline of Europe’s natural habitats, a significant portion of which are currently assessed as being in poor condition.

The legislation includes specific targets for various ecosystems, including peatlands, forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers, lakes, and coral beds. Member states are required to improve at least 30 percent of these habitats by 2030, with this target increasing to 60 percent by 2040 and 90 percent by 2050.

The conservative ÖVP party has been against the regulations, consistently reasserting Austria’s abstention vote for two years now since the EU Commission presented the package that included the “nature restoration law.” 

But now, Gewessler’s rogue vote was crucial for the legislation to pass. Austria’s vote, which was a mystery until the very end, was decisive.

Although a clear majority of states voted in favour anyway, the necessary quorum of 65 percent of EU residents was only achieved because of Austria. In the end, 66.07 percent of the EU population voted in favour of the law.

Can Gewessler vote against the Chancellery decision?

That’s complicated, and the courts will decide. 

The Chancellor argues that Austria had already been notified to abstain, a position based on “a uniform opinion of the Regional Governments (Bundesländer), binding for the Federal Government under Austrian constitutional law, as well as the lacking consensus within the Austrian Federal Government ”. 

He means that Austrian states have also agreed not to back the proposal. However, in May, two states, Vienna and Carinthia, pulled out of this vote, as Der Standard reported. This makes it unclear, even among constitutional lawyers, whether there is still a “uniform opinion” and whether Gewessler would be bound by it, the report added.

READ ALSO: Why Vienna is a haven for wild animals – and where you can find them

Criticism from SPÖ and far-right

The SPÖ and FPÖ criticised Gewessler and Nehammer for their actions on Monday. The two had made Austria “the laughing stock of Europe”, said SPÖ climate spokesperson Julia Herr in a press statement. 

“What we are currently experiencing is basically the continuation of the last five years of black-green, only with tougher strikes because the election is approaching,” she said.

Meanwhile, far-right FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl demanded that Nehammer take responsibility for Gewessler’s “ideology-driven solo effort”. In his opinion, the law meant the “death” of domestic agriculture and the security of supply with domestic food.

The major environmental NGOs were very pleased with the approval of Gewessler’s EU nature restoration law: Greenpeace spoke of a “milestone” in a press release, the WWF saw “historic progress”, and Global 2000 saw an “important tool in the fight against the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis”.

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CLIMATE CRISIS

How Austria plans to protect the public during heatwaves this summer

With the first heatwave of the year set to hit Austria, the government has presented its "National Heat Protection Plan". But what does it involve?

Published: 20 June 2024 11:23 CEST
How Austria plans to protect the public during heatwaves this summer

Just as people in Austria start bracing for the first heat wave of the year, with temperatures expected to reach 35C on Friday, the government has presented its “National Heat Protection Plan“.  

The plan aims to raise awareness about the impact of extreme heat on individuals and systems while guiding state authorities and healthcare facilities to better prepare for and respond to heat events, according to a presentation by Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens).

According to Rauch, Europe is warming up faster than other continents due to the impact of the human-caused climate crisis. 

The minister said in a press conference that heat is already a burden for healthy people. However, it can become a real danger, especially for vulnerable groups such as babies, small children, the elderly, and sick people. Awareness of this should be raised. 

READ ALSO: How to stay cool in Austria as the heatwave hits

The revised heat protection plan aims to raise awareness and make the healthcare system more resilient to future heat events. The plan sets out steps to be taken at the federal level in cooperation with the federal states and GeoSphere Austria, the country’s meteorological institute, in the event of extremely high temperatures.

What are the federal recommendations?

The plan recommends measures to the federal states and social and health institutions depending on the warning level and shows examples of best practices, such as setting up a network of “heat buddies.”

For example, people who live in retirement homes and care facilities or are cared for by mobile services should be better looked after. 

“Heat protection requires more than just structural and technical measures. It is also a social task. It requires a joint effort. It is crucial to sensitise those responsible so that they can prepare measures for their institutions. That is the goal and the great benefit of this National Heat Protection Plan,” said Andrea Schmidt, Head of the Climate and Health Competence Centre at Gesundheit Österreich.

Exchange with state, social, and healthcare facilities will also be intensified. An information and training programme for the facilities’ health officers and an annual congress are planned. The plan also calls for heat to be given more significant consideration in urban development and spatial planning.

“We must use every opportunity to inform the population about correct behaviour and provide good care for people at increased risk during heatwaves,” said Health Minister Johannes Rauch.

READ ALSO: How is Vienna planning to deal with heatwaves?

The minister said short-, medium—and long-term measures are needed to protect particularly vulnerable groups from heat stress. These include structural measures in public spaces, such as shading and installing drinking water dispensers. 

In the short term, local initiatives such as Caritas climate oases, Red Cross cooling centres, and other neighbourhood support measures can improve the situation of older or sick people. 

Responsibilities for the states

The federal states are responsible for implementing measures, each of which has its own heat protection plans that consider regional characteristics. The federal government coordinates the exchange between the states and experts. It is responsible for measures in the event of extreme heat from a perceived temperature of 40C and in the event of long-lasting, intense heatwaves, the national plan shows.

READ ALSO: Austrian heatwave: Six tips to get a better night’s sleep

The main aim is to convene the state crisis and disaster management team to coordinate the emergency measures of all parties involved (such as emergency organisations and federal, state, and local authorities). According to Rauch, the Ministry of Health also wants to intensify the provision of information to the population and place adverts on correct behaviour during heatwaves.

“Heat is also a social issue if people cannot afford air conditioning or a visit to the swimming pool”, said Rauch. He added: “We therefore also want to help create more places that offer free cooling, such as the 27 “Climate Oases” in Vienna and Lower Austria and the Red Cross “Cooling Centres.”“

Monitoring is also essential, as the press conference emphasised. Heat-related mortality is difficult to record, as heat rarely causes direct deaths but affects pre-existing conditions.

The AGES heat mortality monitoring programme calculates the correlation between temperatures and excess mortality. The analyses showed that in recent years, there has been a significant excess mortality of up to 500 people per year. Hospitalisations also increased by up to a quarter in extremely hot summers.

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