Vienna to develop an integration standard

Vienna is developing an integration standard to set shared expectations and assess whether its integration policies are working, the city said, according to ORF. The plan includes a code, a guiding vision and a report, integration councillor Bettina Emmerling (NEOS) announced on Monday.

Emmerling said the standard would establish a clear framework and define principles that were not open to negotiation, including human dignity, democracy, the rule of law, equality and freedom. Antisemitism, racism, misogyny and extremism, she said, had no place in Vienna.

She also stressed that integration was not a one-way process. Residents should contribute to community life and make use of the city’s integration services. Learning German was an absolute obligation, she said, adding that free courses were available and that language shaped people’s future prospects.

The first part, a code intended as a shared set of rules for living together, is to be developed jointly and receive political backing. It is due by early 2027. A guiding vision setting out goals and a shared vision for community life is expected by the end of 2027. An integration report will track progress and remaining challenges, and is to be published every two years, starting by the end of 2028.

Sociologist Kenan Güngör will provide scientific support for the work. He said Vienna already had decades of professional integration work, but social unease was growing. The challenge, he said, was to develop and clearly communicate a strategy rather than simply add new measures. He added that the standard should acknowledge both the opportunities and risks of social diversity.

SPÖ city councillor Astrid Pany, who presented the plan with Emmerling, said Vienna was building on existing work, including the Vienna Charter, and that living together required clear rules. She also called on the federal government to ensure a fair distribution of responsibility, reliable information and adequate conditions, and to uphold the allocation quota and a residence requirement.