How much of the European Union is in Vienna? What projects wouldn’t exist in the federal capital without them? Vienna’s City Councilor for Economic Affairs Peter Hanke (SPÖ) knows the answers to these questions.
VIENNA. June 9, 2024 is election day. The European elections will take place in Austria this Sunday. We wanted to know how important the EU is for Vienna from Finance and Economics City Councilor Peter Hanke.
How many projects in Vienna are currently funded by the European Union?
PETER HANKE: Hundreds. It starts with the River Lab hydraulic engineering laboratory at the Brigittenauer Sporn, where the dynamic conditions of flowing water are researched, and ends with the Wiener Linien buses. With appropriate support from the EU, we were able to finance both emission-free e-buses and hydrogen buses, including a competence center. But the conversion of the Thaliastrasse climate boulevard and the new large heat pump in Simmering were also funded by the EU.
Twitch around the belt
One of the first EU-funded projects was the revitalization of the light rail arches. Today almost all parties want to give the belt a new look. Was the attractiveness at the time a shot in the foot or is it just campaign banter?
In principle it was money well invested. Anyone who talks about the light rail arches today also knows that the situation was different back then. But of course we change and we have to find new answers to the differentiated needs. That’s why it’s good that there is a political discussion about it. You just have to be a little careful not to overdo it with the beautiful pictures that are painted, but which, due to the normal set of rules and the normal traffic and mobility flows, project unreal realities that cannot be fulfilled.
Which project would not exist without EU funding?
For example, the youth college. This is a free educational offer for immigrant young people between the ages of 15 and 25. They are looked after over a longer period of time, learn the German language and can thus gain a foothold in the job market. Of course, as a city we also offer German courses through the waff (note: Vienna Employees Promotion Fund). Thanks to EU funding, we can expand our offering here even further.
EU funding for entrepreneurs
Is there help for Viennese entrepreneurs with EU funding?
Yes, with EuroVienna we have a service point for EU projects in Austria. This is located on Kaiserstrasse in the 7th district and helps companies that want their projects to be funded by the EU.
Prices in Austria rose by 4.1 percent in March, almost twice as much as in the euro area, where they rose by an average of 2.4 percent. Why is that?
This is of course due to failures on the part of the federal government, as it could not bring itself to take clear measures in certain areas, be it rents or food prices. A quicker, quicker intervention would have been a good thing here. Now I’m not one of those people who wants to let others do things. Looking back, the picture that emerges is that we have simply fallen behind on average in the EU. So there must have been one or two errors here. You should at least learn from these mistakes and try to find a good way forward.
Why should you vote in the EU elections?
The EU is not a virtual phenomenon that lives in Brussels. We are the EU. We directly elect our 20 representatives in the EU Parliament. By taking part in the election, I can help shape our Europe. Our Europe is also the Europe of free rail transport, a Europe of prosperity and a Europe of peace. Each of us must contribute to this.
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