As part of the EIA amendment, the procedures for large energy transition projects such as wind farms are to be even faster in the future. Among other things, there should no longer be any double checks in the procedures in the future. If, for example, the landscape has already been checked when areas are designated, then a new check is not necessary in the approval process.
In federal states in which there is no spatial energy planning, it should in future be possible to start the EIA procedure without a dedication from the community. The EIA procedure examines the suitability of the location, and the approval of the municipality is also obtained as part of this.
In the future, projects for the energy transition should be given a high level of public interest. This means that complaints should no longer automatically have a suspensive effect. An increase in photovoltaic subsidies and an expansion of biogas production were also announced.
SPÖ locates “next belly spot”
For the SPÖ, the ÖVP and the Greens have put down “the next belly spot” and a “self-fall”. Federal Managing Director Christian Deutsch was also not enthusiastic about the agreement on the EIA amendment. “The EIA amendment, for which (Chancellor Karl, note) Nehammer and (Vice-Chancellor Werner, note) Kogler (…) are patting each other on the back, has been on hold for months because the governing parties have blocked each other.”
The record inflation was not an issue at the exam, criticized Deutsch. The government is inactive in areas such as strengthening care and securing the health system. In the area of work and economy – “after the failed labor market reform” – again only one working group was announced. And the presentation of the anti-corruption package was “postponed altogether”.
It was “complete”, as Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler said at the press conference after the two-day retreat, but should only be presented on Thursday by Justice Minister Alma Zadic (Greens) and Constitutional Minister Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP), as it was said.
FPÖ: “Austrians finally written off”
FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl announced in a broadcast that the “Federal Government had finally written off the Austrians”. The price explosion, including record inflation, and the “migration chaos” are the problems that affect the lives of citizens every day, but have not even been mentioned by the government, as he wrote.
“As important as the expansion of renewable energy may be, people who no longer know how to pay their electricity or gas bills currently have other concerns than buying a photovoltaic system,” says Kickl. ÖVP’s immediate resignation and Greens as well as the fastest possible new elections are the only way out, according to Kickl.
NEOS: “Announcements only”
Criticism also came from NEOS: “These were not results, just announcements,” Secretary General Douglas Hoyos was quoted as saying in a broadcast. The agreement on the expansion of renewable energies is to be welcomed, but comes too late, according to Hoyos. The government has not delivered anything on many major issues, there is no climate protection law, no measures against soil sealing and no abolition of climate-damaging subsidies. The government has not delivered anything on the labor market either. All of this shows that the government is “broken,” according to Hoyos.
Government promotes renewable energies
The federal government wants to make 2023 the year of renewable energies. The goal is to be achieved with a package for the faster expansion of photovoltaics and wind power.
BJV misses a “clear framework” for climate protection
The Federal Youth Representation (BJV) was pleased with the expansion offensive for renewable energy, but still missed a “clear framework” for climate protection. It is “incomprehensible” for young people “why the governing parties still cannot agree on a climate protection law at a time when the effects of the climate crisis are obvious,” said BJV chairwoman Sabrina Prochaska. The BJV also regretted that “important issues” such as combating child poverty and support for mental health were not on the agenda.
Environmental umbrella organization and EEÖ with praise and criticism
The environmental umbrella organization welcomed the increase in PV funding and the planned expansion of biogas production, but criticized the fact that the “Renewable Heat Act” (EWG) and the Climate Protection Act are still outstanding. The environmental organization WWF is also still missing the “resolution of a strong climate protection law, a reform of the planned energy efficiency law and the reduction of environmentally harmful subsidies in the billions”.
The Umbrella Association for Renewable Energy Austria (EEÖ) took the same line as the environmental umbrella organization. One can only speak of an “acceleration package” if, in addition to the EIA amendment, the EEC, the Climate Protection Act and the Energy Efficiency Act are also implemented and there is an official draft for the “Renewable Gas Act”, wrote EEÖ in a broadcast.
IV and WKO emphasize EIA amendment
The Federation of Industrialists (IV), on the other hand, praised the agreement on the EIA amendment. “The clear structuring of the procedures is particularly positive in order to give the project applicants more planning security. Because important investment decisions need clear framework conditions,” said IV President Georg Knill according to the broadcast.
The WKO was also pleased with the innovations in EIA procedures, but WKO Secretary General Karlheinz Kopf would have wished for “more and more practical measures” when it came to the expansion of biogas. However, higher capacities in the coming years are a “key goal”.
Blocked partial retirement
The announcement to abolish the blocked phased retirement provoked numerous reactions. At the moment you can use the blocked variant, with which you initially work fully and then not at all, from 60. With the consent of the employer, a smooth transition to retirement is created. Employees lose neither pension benefits nor entitlements to sick pay or severance pay or entitlements from unemployment insurance.
According to ÖVP Labor and Economics Minister Martin Kocher, this variant is “no longer up to date”, as he said at the press conference after the exam – it does not have a positive effect on the job market. There will be longer transition periods in the future. Starting next year, the option to start the variant will increase by six months per year.
ÖGB: “Government attack on older workers”
The trade union federation (ÖGB) was outraged and spoke of an “attack by the government on older workers”. The blocked partial retirement is an “important and necessary support” for older employees – especially for those in a mentally or physically demanding job. “In view of the fact that older unemployed people still find it difficult to get a new job, it is counterproductive to abolish the blocked variant of partial retirement,” says Ingrid Reischl, senior secretary of the ÖGB.
Katzian: “Won’t work”
ÖGB boss Wolfgang Katzian also wrote on Twitter: “Keeping people longer in working life will not work by denying them blocked partial retirement. It works with fair working conditions and better pay.”
The unions GPA and vida also see it that way. According to the GPA, the abolition of the blocked partial retirement would have “hardly any employment-promoting effect”. “It would be much more important for employees to be able to work healthy until they retire,” says GPA Chairwoman Barbara Teiber. This includes good working conditions, preventive health promotion, adequate staffing, age-appropriate solutions, nationwide childcare – keyword granddaughters – as well as combating long-term unemployment. On the part of vida, the preservation of the blocked partial retirement is demanded.
AK locates “no suitable measure”
The Chamber of Labor (AK) also spoke out clearly against the abolition of blocked partial retirement. It is “not a suitable measure to cover the urgent need for skilled workers that companies are constantly complaining about”. The AK primarily sees women as affected. According to AK Director Silvia Hruska-Frank, the model saved women from becoming unemployed or having to take an invalidity pension before they reached retirement age.
NEOS: “Early retirement program for companies”
The measure, on the other hand, was welcomed by NEOS. For social spokesman Gerald Loacker, the blocked partial retirement is an “early retirement program for companies”. The companies would be paid with tax money for sending their employees to retire earlier, Loacker said in a statement to the APA.
With regard to the labor shortage, Kocher also announced on Wednesday a working group with labor, social affairs and finance ministers, including the parliamentary groups. This is intended to propose incentives for keeping older people in employment. The reform group is expected to deliver proposals by the end of the first quarter.
WIFO: Older “incredible potential”
For Christine Mayrhuber, pensions expert at the Economic Research Institute (WIFO), the approach of using older employees to cushion the labor shortage makes perfect sense. “It is actually the case that we have great potential when it comes to older people,” Mayrhuber told APA. Above all in the group of the over 55-year-olds there is an “incredible untapped potential”. However, it is difficult to quantify how many workers one can have with the right incentives.
At present there are already some incentives for older employees to stay longer in their jobs – for example, the elimination of accident insurance and unemployment contributions from the age of 60. According to Mayrhuber, the working group must first and foremost look at whether the current incentives are going in the right direction. Only then can further adjustments be made.
Disappointment at the Seniors’ Association
Ingrid Korosec, head of the ÖVP Senior Citizens’ Association, was disappointed that no agreement was reached on the ÖVP’s desire to abolish pension contributions (if you are still employed as a pensioner). “After all, there was a clear willingness on the part of the People’s Party and business,” she said in a broadcast. She sees it positively that this demand is being dealt with within the new reform group on the labor market – but the senior citizens’ representatives must be firmly involved in this group, she demanded.
