EU Commission criticizes Austria's judicial system, citing political influence, lack of transparency

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) – The EU Commission sharply criticized the Austrian judicial system in a report released on Wednesday, pointing out political influence on judicial appointments and a lack of transparency as major issues.

“Austria has made no progress in involving the judiciary in the appointment of presidents of administrative courts,” the EU Rule of Law Report 2024 said.

There has been “no progress in the reform of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office or the transparency rules for members of parliament and in the monitoring of lobbying,” the report said.

Since 2020, the EU Commission has published an annual report on the state of the judiciary, media, and rule of law in the EU's 27 member states. It primarily serves as a discussion point for the EU Parliament and its member states, but it also includes specific recommendations for governments.

Despite repeated requests, no progress has been made in the judiciary, according to the EU Commission, which demands that Austria adhere to European standards when appointing such positions to ensure the judiciary's independence.

The EU Commission also calls for “the reform of the establishment of an independent Federal Public Prosecutor's Office to be driven forward.”

The report suggested that Austria implement "efficient rules for the disclosure of assets and interests of Members of Parliament, including effective monitoring and sanction mechanisms."

The monitoring of lobbying is also considered to need improvement. Although progress has been made in reforming the awarding of state advertising, the report said these measures must now be properly implemented and enforced.

It stated that an independent prosecution authority is critical to maintaining the rule of law and urged Austria to proceed with these reforms as soon as possible to strengthen the judiciary's effectiveness.

The report now demands that the measures be "properly implemented and enforced."

However, the commission generally rates Austria's judiciary as "high" in terms of independence, and the judicial system as "efficient," the report said.

“Now we also have it in black and white from the EU Commission: Austria is one of the frontrunners after Hungary in terms of lack of transparency, lack of control and political influence on appointments,” explained Andreas Schieder, head of Delegation of the Austrian Social Democratic Party (SPO) in the EU Parliament, in a press release.

He added: “This is a low point in Austrian politics. Austria would no longer meet the EU's accession requirements today.”