Austria is grappling with a severe budget crisis as new forecasts reveal a significant deficit for 2024. The country's budget is expected to miss the EU's Maastricht criteria, with projections ranging from a 3.3% to 3.7% deficit of GDP.

This comes amid warnings from the Fiscal Council, which had anticipated this negative trend earlier in the year.

The Austrian government is now under pressure to implement savings of around three billion euros annually to avoid potential EU sanctions.

Proposed measures include cutting climate-damaging subsidies and reforming the pension system.

However, political disagreements persist, particularly over tax reforms and pension adjustments.

The economic downturn, exacerbated by high energy costs and reduced exports, has further complicated the fiscal outlook, leading to a rise in national debt and a challenging path ahead for Austria's financial stability.