National Council passes double budget for 2027 and 2028

Consolidation Path in Detail

The adoption of the double budget is a politically sensitive procedure, because it fixes the federal spending priorities two years in advance. Numerous ministries had to align their planning with the key figures of the Ministry of Finance, and the parliamentary negotiations in the committees ran over several weeks.

In the final votes, the budget chapters for the individual ministries as well as the federal financial framework were adopted as law. The votes were regarded as the formal conclusion of a process in which the opposition and the governing factions had already raised their reservations and amendment proposals in the preliminary talks.

With the adoption, the National Council ends its working period before the summer recess. The next regular plenary week is scheduled for autumn, in which, among other things, the initial reactions to the budgetary key figures in the execution stage are expected.

Outlook After the Summer Recess

The EU's budgetary policy requirements remain binding for Austria. A decline of the deficit below the three-percent threshold is therefore a central criterion for assessing whether the targeted consolidation is considered successful.

For the coming years, budget policy thus remains a defining topic of the domestic political debate, particularly with regard to possible economic fluctuations, rising interest burdens, and the financing of investments in infrastructure and climate protection.

Observers pointed out that the actual deficit development will also depend on the economic situation. Should the economy grow more strongly than forecast, revenues could turn out higher; in the event of a slowdown, a worse budget situation would have to be expected.

Overall, the double budget marks the attempt to bring domestic budget goals and Union legal requirements into line with each other through medium-term financial planning. The complete budget reports and the justifications for the individual chapters will be published in the coming weeks.

The double budget will subsequently also be referred to the Federal Council for consideration, whereby the Federal Council has only a limited role in budget matters. The European Commission will also continue to monitor Austria's budgetary path within the framework of the European Semester.