Harsh criticism

Court of Audit does not leave a good hair on the Corona Fund

The fact that corona penalties are being repaid in Lower Austria displeases the Court of Audit's auditors.(Bild: Mathis Fotografie)

The Court of Audit scrutinized the Covid relief fund of the state of Lower Austria. The auditors criticized the endowment of more than 31 million euros and the compensation for fines imposed at the time. Provincial Councillor Luisser (FPÖ) sees the fund as a "sign of justice".

The protective measures during the coronavirus pandemic have also divided society and politics in Lower Austria. After the 2023 state elections, it was a coalition condition of the FPÖ to "straighten out the consequences of the measures regime to some extent", as the responsible state councillor Christoph Luisser puts it today.

Needs not clarified
The Court of Audit has investigated the extent to which this has been achieved. And the auditors are not happy about the endowment of the fund - the state provided 31.3 million taxpayers' money: "There was no comprehensible needs assessment." They are also bothered by the fact that the "funding guidelines are in part very general" and offer a "wide scope for interpretation".

We have simply righted the wrongs caused by others and helped the people of Lower Austria to their rights.

Landesrat Christoph Luisser (FPÖ)

Bild: ZVG Privat

"Problematic signal effect"
By the middle of the previous year, around 5,000 people and two associations had received a total of 3.63 million euros from the Corona Fund. Following controversial club funding, this was discontinued in May 2024, the auditors conclude. They take a hard line on the refunding of penalties for offenses against corona regulations, which were later annulled as unconstitutional. The penalties were imposed "in accordance with the legal situation valid at the time" and were therefore "legally binding". The reimbursement would have a "problematic signal effect". The fund term ends on August 31. The auditors assume that it is "unlikely" that the funds will be fully utilized by then.