Burgenland's Court of Audit chief Wenk warns of billion-euro loss – politicians respond with attacks

The income statement for 2023 showed revenues of 1.46 billion euros and expenditures of 1.55 billion euros. Adding up the years 2020 to 2026 yields a total loss of 1 billion euros, which will correspondingly reduce net assets. Wenk explained: "Man kann sagen, das letzte Tafelsilber wurde dann verwertet."

Liquid assets stood at over 300 million euros in 2021, falling to around 220 million euros by the end of 2023, and in 2024 they were nearly exhausted at 18 million euros. The former 225 million euros in BVOG funds likewise fell to 105 million euros by the end of 2023, to 33 million euros in 2024, and were completely exhausted in 2025. In 2025, the state had to take out a cash advance of 50 million euros to secure liquidity.

Exhausted reserves and rising debt

OeBFA loans stood at 236 million euros in 2020, rising to 610 million euros by 2025. Guarantees for debt outsourced to state-owned companies reached 1.38 billion euros at the end of 2023, with a further increase to 1.56 billion euros in 2024. Debt in the state-owned companies themselves had also risen "rasant" (rapidly). "Für den Großteil dieser Schulden und ihre Rückzahlung haftet das Land."

The BLRH also drew on the 2024 financial statements and the budgets for 2025 and 2026 to assess further economic developments. The 2026 state budget showed several "Auffälligkeiten" (notable points), the BLRH said – for example, a reduction in personnel expenses of 30 million euros and in current depreciation of 26 million euros, dividend payments from the state holding company on a "nie da gewesenen Dimension" (unprecedented scale) of 60 million euros, and the "einseitige Darstellung" (one-sided presentation) of the sale of housing loans without taking into account the resulting losses, since the borrowers only had to repay 75 percent of the outstanding loan amount.

In 2026, housing loan borrowers were offered the option of early repayment at a 25 percent discount. For this short-term liquidity effect, the state had – due to the discounts – foregone several hundred million euros, "die es damit künftigen Generationen entzog" (which it thus withheld from future generations). This resulted in a loss of just under -90 million euros. The planned reduction of 200 million euros for this year is to be financed through the sale of housing loans.

Criticism of budget planning and asset position

The audit also showed continued outstanding deficiencies from the 2020 opening balance sheet, which persisted through the 2023 financial statements and beyond. As a result, the state had reported assets "mit fraglicher Existenz" (of doubtful existence): "Die genaue Vermögenslage blieb für den BLRH daher weiterhin unklar." The BLRH viewed "weiterhin unklare Vermögenspositionen ohne entsprechende Wertberichtigungen" (continued unclear asset positions without corresponding value adjustments) as particularly critical. "Deutliche Abweichungen" (significant deviations) between budgets and actual developments raised "Fragen zur Qualität der Budgetplanung" (questions about the quality of budget planning), it was said, and Wenk insisted on "bessere Planungsgenauigkeit" (better planning accuracy).

The state of Burgenland responded by referring to "stabilen Landesfinanzen" (stable state finances") and stated that debt reduction was "bereits voll angelaufen" (already fully underway). With the "Finanzstabilitätspaket 2026" and the Burgenland Budget Stability Act, the state had already implemented concrete measures for further debt reduction. The state could not understand the BLRH's criticism of the decline in liquid assets, as this measure was an earlier BLRH recommendation: "Die Zahlungsfähigkeit des Landes war dabei jederzeit gewährleistet. Ausreichende Finanzierungsmöglichkeiten und Kreditrahmen standen laufend zur Verfügung." It was objected, with reference to the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis, that the BLRH was ignoring the crisis years. The BLRH's conclusions would "über den eigentlichen Prüfungsauftrag hinausgehen" (go beyond the actual audit mandate).

State response: debt reduction already underway

The Court of Audit also mentioned the rating reports published by the state until October 2024 from "Standard & Poor's" with the unchanged assessment of "stable". In April 2025, the outlook had changed to "negative", but this was no longer published. With a view to the Maastricht criteria, Wenk recommended that policymakers "die Politik zu überdenken und einen gewissen Spar-Gedanken zu verinnerlichen" (rethink policy and internalize a certain sense of austerity).

After Court of Audit director René Wenk reported on the deplorable state of the state budget on Wednesday, using the state's own data, parliamentary group leader Roland Fürst promptly recommended that the "teuersten Landesrechnungshof Österreichs" (most expensive state Court of Audit in Austria) "die guten Tipps beim Einsparen bei sich selbst anzuwenden" (apply its own good tips for saving money to itself). The director must "klar sein: Gesundheitspolitische Entscheidungen im Burgenland treffen gewählte Politikerinnen und Politiker – nicht ein Hilfsorgan des Landtages" (be clear: health policy decisions in Burgenland are made by elected politicians – not by an auxiliary organ of the state parliament). Hans Peter Doskozil, whose voice had not yet recovered following his operation, opted on Wednesday for nice images rather than unpleasant figures and visited Alfons Haider at the Mörbisch Lake Stage, where "Ein Käfig voller Narren" (La Cage aux Folles) will be on the program starting next week.

Political attacks on the Court of Audit director

The FPÖ, by contrast, identified in a press release an "alarmierendes Bild über die finanzielle Entwicklung unseres Bundeslandes" (alarming picture of the financial development of our federal state). The current report confirmed "jene Fehlentwicklung, auf die wir Freiheitliche seit Jahren hingewiesen haben" (those misguided developments that we Freedom Party members have been pointing out for years), said parliamentary group leader Christian Ries. The ÖVP demanded in a press release an end to "Schönfärberei" (whitewashing). State party chairman Christoph Zarits said: "Statt nachhaltiger Finanzpolitik zeigt der Rechnungshof auf, dass Probleme verschoben, Risiken ausgelagert und die tatsächliche finanzielle Situation zunehmend verschleiert werden." The Greens, who played a leading role in founding the BLRH in 2002, are now the junior partner of the SPÖ in the state government – and are remaining silent.

The oversight body is indispensable for the entire state parliament, as it serves, according to the constitution, to provide "Unterstützung des Landtages bei der (...) Gebarungskontrolle des Landes" (support to the state parliament in the (...) review of the administration of the state's finances). The director, unanimously elected by the state parliament in 2022, previously served at the Federal Court of Audit and has performed his duties in Eisenstadt without blemish to date.