The decision to establish a service point for artificial intelligence is also on the agenda. While the MPs deliberated for three days in Parliament at the last session in 2023, only one day is scheduled for the first session in the new year.
It starts with a “Current Hour” from the FPÖ, followed by a “Current Europe Hour” from the ÖVP with the title “Security for Austria also requires a look to Europe”. If the opposition wants to submit an “urgent request”, the Social Democrats would be the first to apply.
Vote on six referendums
There will then be six referendums on the agenda. It starts with the “Real Democracy” referendum, supported by 131,619 people, which calls for numerous changes to the law – such as referendums after all referendums with over 100,000 declarations of support. 168,705 people spoke out in favor of keeping summer time as “standard time”, 167,406 against the GIS fees – which have already been replaced by a household levy. The referendum “Nehammer must go” that was critical of the Chancellor and had 106,440 signatures was referred back to the Constitutional Committee because the initiators were not informed about the start of the deliberations in the committee and were therefore not present.
The abolition of official secrecy is considered certain
After that, the Freedom of Information Act is probably the most explosive topic on the agenda. It should be passed along with accompanying constitutional amendments and grant citizens the right to information from the state. There is also the approval of the SPÖ, which in negotiations with the government made minor changes to the law and secured the required two-thirds majority. After an expert hearing in the Constitutional Committee, individual provisions were further sharpened and explanations were made more precise. Freedom of information will come into force in September 2025. NEOS and FPÖ had expressed criticism in advance.
AI service point
A vote will then be taken on the establishment of a service point for artificial intelligence at the broadcasting and telecommunications regulatory authority RTR. This is intended to build competence and create an information and consulting service for AI projects and applications in the areas of media, telecommunications and post. There will also be an expert advisory board that will advise RTR and the government on technical, ethical and social aspects of AI. The opposition parties criticized the draft law in advance and, according to parliamentary correspondence in the committee, spoke of it as a “quick shot”.
An FPÖ motion for early elections has little chance of success. Only the other two opposition parties supported this in the Constitutional Committee.
The day’s meeting ends with some reports from the Court of Auditors. In an audit report, the supervisory body saw the pension system as facing major challenges and recommended clear strategies, for example when changing the retirement age. The Court of Auditors also expressed criticism of the Covid vaccine procurement – there was often a lack of a documented, comprehensible basis – and of the corona test strategy, which was implemented differently by the countries and resulted in high costs.
