On December 17th at 12 p.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – Rebekka Salzer presents the ORF parliamentary magazine “Hohes Haus” on Sunday, December 17, 2023, at 12 p.m. on ORF 2 with the following topics:
Accession negotiations
There were grim signs in advance that this year’s December summit of European Union heads of state and government could be a disaster. There were two very important items on the agenda: the question of EU expansion to include countries such as Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and the Western Balkan states, as well as further financial support for Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia. Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, described by many as Putin’s man in the EU, made it clear in advance that he does not believe in starting accession talks with Ukraine or in further billions in aid for Kiev. Then things turned out differently. A report from Brussels by Peter Fritz.
EU Minister Karoline Edtstadler is in the studio.
Distribution key
On Thursday, the National Council decided on financial equalization between the federal, state and local governments. The new financial equalization brings states and municipalities around 3.4 billion euros annually. This is intended to provide funds for health and care as well as addressing other future issues. A future fund endowed with 1.1 billion euros allocates funds for specific purposes, for example for expanding childcare. The majority decision was preceded by a heated debate. While the FPÖ and NEOS fundamentally rejected the new financial equalization, the ÖVP, the Greens and the SPÖ spoke out in favor of it. However, the SPÖ complained that the communities were being disadvantaged by the new regulations and called for an additional community package. Claus Bruckmann followed the debate.
Medication evaluation
With the financial equalization negotiations, a so-called evaluation board for new innovative drugs was also decided, which has been widely criticized. In the future, representatives from the federal states and social insurance companies will evaluate the benefits of such high-priced drugs and compare them to the costs. Doctors, patient advocates and the opposition criticize this new board, which is expected to cost three million euros annually. They fear that patients in the hospital will have to wait longer for some treatments in the future or even completely lose their right to treatment based on the latest scientific standards. Susanne Däubel asked.