Vienna council debates budget and Market Office allegations

Vienna’s City Council is holding its 18th meeting, with two urgent inquiries on the city’s budget and allegations concerning the Market Office, ORF reports.

The meeting begins with a question session covering topics including the capacity of Vienna’s waste disposal infrastructure, healthcare provision for post-acute infection syndromes, payment commitments for the multifunctional arena, experiences with the “Auszeit WG” shared flat and allegations against the Market Office’s management.

The council will then debate a current-affairs motion submitted by NEOS under the title “A resilient democracy needs the best education.” The main debate will focus on annual funding for Frauenservice Wien, a women’s service organisation.

The ÖVP has submitted an urgent inquiry to Mayor Michael Ludwig of the SPÖ on “Vienna’s budget development in the first half of 2026 and the failure to consolidate spending.”

The FPÖ inquiry concerns “allegations against the leadership of MA 59, the Market Office: the mayor’s responsibility, official investigations, possible misleading of oversight bodies, and structural failures in control, compliance and procurement.”

The ÖVP inquiry will be answered and debated after the scheduled agenda, no later than 4 p.m. The FPÖ inquiry will be debated at the end of the agenda and in any case after the ÖVP inquiry.