Austrian Foreign Minister faces scrutiny over 107,000 euro conference spending

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger is facing criticism from the opposition Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) regarding the use of state funds to finance a conference for the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

Parliamentary inquiries revealed that the ministry spent exactly 107,638.08 euros for the ECFR annual meeting held in Vienna on June 17 and 18. The expenditures included nearly 31,000 euros for venue rental at the Austrian National Library, approximately 26,000 euros for catering, and about 51,000 euros for protocol and logistics. These figures do not include additional costs for security, staff, or travel.

The FPÖ has criticized the spending, with General Secretary Christian Hafeneker alleging that taxpayer money was used for personal promotion without providing value to the state. The opposition also noted that contracts, the full participant list, and the legal basis for the funding were not presented to the Austrian Parliament. Furthermore, concerns were raised because parts of the meeting were conducted under the Chatham House Rule, which allows participants to use information received but prohibits revealing the identity or affiliation of the speakers.