Austria may abandon neutrality for NATO – foreign minister

"Austria should be ready to discuss its potential membership in NATO, Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger has said. She acknowledged, however, that joining is unlikely to gain major public or parliamentary support at this stage.

In an interview with Die Welt published on Saturday, Meinl-Reisinger spoke about what she described as “an increasingly aggressive Russia,” which she claims is reluctant to conclude a peace deal with Ukraine.
Moscow has maintained it is open to dialogue, but insisted that any settlement must take into account its key security concerns, including that Kiev agree to permanently stay out of NATO.
According to Meinl-Reisinger, “neutrality alone does not protect us.” She explained that Austria should invest not only in “defense capabilities,” but also in military partnerships." RT

Massive Landslides hit Villages in Austria - Helicopter Evacuations - Villages Isolated- Roads blocked

"In Austria's Gschnitztal valley, severe thunderstorms triggered a mudslide, leading to evacuations by helicopter. Approximately 100 people from Gschnitz village and nearby mountain huts were flown out using a Black Hawk helicopter, as roads and hiking trails became impassable." Devd

Austria & Germany Slammed by Destructive Storms ! Flooded Streets, Fallen Trees, Hail Everywhere

"Severe summer storms struck Austria and Germany, unleashing powerful winds, hail, and

flash floods. Regions like Tyrol, Styria, Bavaria, and Saxony faced major damage to homes, roads, and power lines. Emergency crews battled fires, flooding, and widespread disruptions to transport and infrastructure." StormHQ

Syrian Refugee Suspected in ‘Allahu Akbar’ Mass Stabbing in Austria that left Five Injured and 14-Year-Old Dead

"A Syrian allegedly stabbed six people in the Austrian

town of Villach in a suspected Islamist
terror attack on Saturday afternoon that left a 14-year-old boy dead.
Just days after terror struck in Munich, a 23-year-old supposed refugee from Syria launched into a vicious stabbing spree in the Carinthian town of Villach on Saturday afternoon. Five people were injured during the attack, and tragically, a 14-year-old was killed after bleeding out on the street.
The suspect, identified by Kronen Zeitung as ‘Ahmad G.’, is reported by eyewitnesses to have laughed during the attack. He is also said to have shouted out “Allahu Akbar” and made hand gestures associated with the ISIS terrorist group." Breitbart

Austrian Chancellor to resign in few days: Reason revealed

"Austrian parliament failed to form a ruling coalition in negotiations that have been going on since November. In this regard, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer will resign, as he announced on the X." RBCUkraine

Austrian chancellor offers to mediate talks on Trump’s Ukraine-Russia peace deal

"Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has offered U.S. President-elect Donald Trump his country as a venue for potential peace negotiations between Ukraine and Russia.

The chancellor noted that he had a phone conversation with Trump during which they discussed the war in Ukraine.
“Trump asked for my assessment because I was one of the few who have met both Putin and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky,” said Nehammer.
“He also shared his perspective with me. We quickly moved on to discussing how important peace is and the necessity for the war to end.” NV

France's National Rally to lead new right-wing group at EU parliament

"Marine Le Pen's far-right National Pally party struck an alliance with Hungarian Prime

Minister Viktor Orban in the EU parliament. Austria's far-right Freedom Party, Fidesz and the populist Czech ANO party led by Andrej Babis had already agreed to join forces, citing the fight against illegal immigration, as well as transferring more powers from Brussels back to member states as the new alliance's goals." France24

Austria unblocks sanctions against Russia after Ukraine's concession on Raiffeisen Bank

"Austria has agreed to lift its blocking of the 12th package of EU sanctions against Russia after Ukraine removed its bank Raiffeisen from the list of international sponsors of the war." Pravada

Austrian government confirms that it will arrest Putin if he arrives

"Karoline Edtstadler, the Minister for EU and Constitution in the Austrian government, has
confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be arrested if he visits the country." Pravada

Austrian Lawmakers Stage Mass Walkout During Zelensky Speech

 "......Zelensky's latest speech. He addressed the lower house of Austria’s parliament via
video-link on Thursday. Not far into the speech, a large group of Austrian lawmakers staged a group protest and walked out all together. They left placards on their desks with the words "space for neutrality" and "space for peace". They are not happy at the current European and US stance which has blocked negotiations." ZH

Sanctions on Russia are backfiring – former Austrian vice-chancellor

"Western sanctions imposed on Moscow have failed to make a dent in Russia’s economy and
ultimately only hurt Europeans, former Austrian Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache has said. He also accused eupolicymakers of turning a blind eye to the deadly fighting in Donbass, which he said served as a prelude to the current conflict for many years." RT

Austria sounds alarm over economy

 "Austria is facing what may be its worst economic crisis since World War II, the finance
minister said.....Brunner noted that Austrian businesses and households are feeling the impact of anti-Russia sanctions. He stressed that calls for lifting the restrictions on Russia are “emotionally understandable,” but there are no guarantees of a return to previous cooperation with Moscow." RT

Russia halts gas delivery to Italy

"Russia’s Gazprom has informed Italian energy company Eni that it will not be able to supply
gas to the country due to the “impossibility of transporting it” through Austria...... the gas flow through Austria has been suspended due to the refusal of the Austrian operator to confirm transit nominations due to regulatory changes that were introduced in Austria at the end of September." RT

Sweden, Austria Start Bailing Out Energy Companies Triggering Europe's "Minsky Moment"

"....the infamous "Minsky Moment" framework to Europe, and specifically Germany, which
he said "can’t cover its payments without Russian gas and the government is asking citizens to conserve energy to leave more for industry." He then elaborated that "Minsky moments are triggered by excessive financial leverage, and in the context of supply chains, leverage means excessive operating leverage: in Germany, $2 trillion of value added depends on $20 billion of gas from Russia… …that’s 100-times leverage – much more than Lehman’s." (Zoltan's entire note is a must read for everyone with a passing interest in what comes next). Austria, which announced it would bail out the country's main energy supplier with a two-billion-euro ($2 billion) loan, the AFP reported. Chancellor Karl Nehammer said the loan to Wien Energie was an "extraordinary rescue measure" to ensure its two million customers - mainly Vienna households - continue to receive electricity. It will run until next April. Wien Energie asked for a bailout this weekend after suffering financial trouble amid soaring energy prices and speculation the company mismanaged their funds. Nehammer said Wien Energie, which is owned by Vienna, would have to answer questions as to how they got into trouble.  

Sweden announced it will give emergency liquidity support to electricity producers after the government said it feared Russia’s decision to halt gas deliveries to Europe could place its financial system under severe strain. Prime minister Magdalena Andersson said the government would offer hundreds of billions of kroner in support to electricity producers, the FT reported. The PM warned that, left unchecked, rising collateral demands for electricity producers could ripple through the main Nasdaq Clearing market in Stockholm and, in the worst case, spark a financial crisis.... just as Zoltan warned almost half a year ago. " ZH

Ukraine angry at Austrian comments

"Kiev is “disappointed” by the “short-sighted” statements of Austrian Foreign Minister
Alexander Schallenberg who suggested that full EU membership might not be the best option for Ukraine.

On Saturday, Schallenberg, while admitting that deepening ties with Ukraine is necessary as the EU is exporting the “Western way of life,” said that models other than full EU membership should be considered for Ukraine. He mentioned joining the European Economic Area or an association agreement as among the options." RT

Austria halts Russian oil imports

"Austria’s energy giant OMV says it has suspended all imports of Russian oil ahead of the possible EU embargo on them.

“The purchase of oil from Russia was always very low ... we replaced it with other oil from the market,” an OMV spokesman said, as quoted by newspaper Kronen Zeitung." RT

Germany and Austria Prepare for Gasoline Rationing

"Amid demands from Russia that central Europe pay for the country's gasoline using rubles
starting on March 31, Germany and Austria have sounded the alarm over imminent disruptions in the supply chain, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

Germany, which gets about half its gas and a third of its oil from Russia, urged consumers and companies to reduce gas consumption. Klaus Müller, president of the country's Federal Network Agency, said to prepare for "all scenarios."

Neighboring Austria relies on Russia even more for gas, receiving nearly 80% of its supply from the country." Newsmax

"It Doesn't Work" For Us - Austrian Chancellor Rejects Biden's Pressure To Boycott Russia Energy

"Speaking Thursday, Nehammer denied reports in the Austrian press claiming his government
was in talks to agree to an embargo on Russian energy. The reality couldn't be further from the truth he said, adding that talk of a Russian energy boycott is "unrealistic and wrong".

"It doesn't work. Austria gets 80% of its gas from Russia." What's more, rumors of a boycott are harmful in and of themselves, because they serve to drive energy prices higher." ZH

Anger explodes at Germany, Italy, and Hungary over Europe’s failure to cut Russia off from SWIFT payment network

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Thursday that Russia should not yet be cut off from
the SWIFT global payments system, because it is “very important” to keep such drastic measures “for a situation where it may be necessary.” Italy is also reported to have opposed the measure in order to maintain some leverage over Russia’s dictatorial president, Vladimir Putin.

Both Germany and Italy are highly dependent on Russian natural gas, which would be difficult to pay for if Russia really were to be cut off from SWIFT; Austria has the same dilemma, and is taking a similar approach. All three of these countries have other extensive business ties with Russia, with Italian and Austrian banks being highly exposed right now. French banks do a lot of business in Russia as well, and France has declared a SWIFT cutoff to be “the very last resort.”

And then there’s Hungary,...As with President Miloš Zeman of the neighboring Czech Republic, Orbán appears to have changed tack in the past couple days, condemning Russia’s invasion and professing to stand with Ukraine. However, he has yet to follow Zeman in calling for the SWIFT option, which the Czech leader says is “needed to isolate a madman.” 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Thursday that “everyone who now doubts whether Russia should be banned from SWIFT has to understand that the blood of innocent Ukrainian men, women, and children will be on their hands, too.” And on Friday morning, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov urged people to share the realities of the invasion “in the Italian, German, and Hungarian media space” and among European officials." Fortune