VIENNA: Austria's far-right Freedom Party and the conservative People's Party said that after three days of coalition talks they had reached a deal on bringing the budget deficit back within the European Union's limit. Freedom Party (FPO) came first in a parliamentary election in September with about 29 per cent of the vote but was not tasked with forming a government until a centrist attempt to do so without the FPO collapsed a week ago. The first order of business in its coalition talks with the People's Party (OVP) was how to bring the budget deficit back within the EU limit of 3 per cent of economic output.
"We have taken a fundamental decision and developed a joint roadmap to avert an EU excessive deficit procedure against Austria," FPO leader Herbert Kickl said in a statement after a press conference with OVP leader Christian Stocker. Weak growth in the economies of important trading partners helped push Austria into a second year of recession last year, denting the country's tax take. — Reuters
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