Burgenland holding rebuts ÖVP debt claims

Burgenland’s ÖVP has criticised a reported rise in liabilities at the state holding company, while the company says the party has confused balance-sheet liabilities with net financial debt, ORF reported.

ÖVP state party leader Christoph Zarits said liabilities rose by 360 million euros from the end of 2024 to the end of 2025, from 2.44 billion to 2.8 billion euros. He called on Governor Hans Peter Doskozil of the SPÖ to provide a fuller account of the holding’s finances.

ÖVP parliamentary group leader Bernd Strobl said the party wanted to know which companies had taken on additional debt and what investments it financed. Zarits also called for details on how the debt would be funded, when it would be repaid, the ongoing costs and the consequences for municipalities and future generations.

The ÖVP said the state budget and the holding’s finances should be considered together because both involve taxpayers’ money. It plans to submit a written parliamentary inquiry and launch a campaign on state finances this autumn.

In a written response to the APA news agency, the holding said the 360 million euro increase referred to total balance-sheet liabilities, not net financial liabilities. The latter rose by about 143 million euros in 2025, it said.

The holding added that fixed assets increased by about 294 million euros to 2.84 billion euros, exceeding net financial liabilities by about 706 million euros. That gap improved by about 151 million euros compared with the previous year. Extended equity remained stable at 729 million euros, while the group reported an annual profit of 39.7 million euros and investments totalling 413 million euros in 2025.