The procedural judges suggest improvements in awards and would like a stronger position in the procedural rules
Vienna (PK) – 14 meetings, 12 interviews and eleven respondents who did not appear: the Red-Blue Abuse of Power Investigative Committee submits its Committee report before. The team of judges led by Christa Edwards summarized the results of the U-Committee set up by the ÖVP on 122 pages. In three chapters, awards, appointments and organizational reforms during government participation by the SPÖ and FPÖ were examined in more detail. During the course of the U-Committee, more and more events in the FPÖ’s sphere of influence were examined.
The result: Under the former Interior Minister Herbert Kickl, advertisements were mainly awarded to media that had points of contact with the FPÖ in terms of content or personnel, but no real special features could be uncovered, according to the report. When awarding contracts in the Ministry of the Interior, contracts were sometimes deliberately designed to be non-transparent, which partially prevented an investigation by the committee.
In the Ministry of Social Affairs, there were peculiarities among SPÖ and FPÖ ministers. Through direct awards without comparative offers, the opportunity to find more suitable providers or cheaper prices was taken away.
Recommendations for changes to the archive law and procurement
Procedural judge Christa Edwards is also in favor of a further U-committee: “In order to generally clarify political responsibilities, the establishment of a ‘Russia committee of inquiry’ into the suspected sale of state secrets, as already envisaged by the MPs, would be desirable.”
Amendments to the Federal Archives Act and the Federal Procurement Act are also recommended. This should give the U-Committee more access to archived material. When awarding contracts, a threshold of €10,000 is proposed, at which point comparative offers must be obtained. Another recommendation from the team of judges, which is also included in the COFAG committee report, is more general: in the future, new legislative proposals should rely more on the expertise in-house and the financial prosecutor’s office, and less on external service providers.
There are also proposals for reforming the rules of procedure for U-committees. The report states that trial judges should generally be given more rights. In addition to the initial surveys, they should also be allowed to carry out the final surveys and suggest summoning people to provide information.
Parties interpret results differently
For the ÖVP, which set up the U-Committee, FPÖ party leader Herbert Kickl in particular was “unmasked” and actions motivated by party politics were uncovered.
The SPÖ speaks of a “diversion and revenge maneuver” by the ÖVP, which wanted to take revenge for the COFAG-U committee with this U-committee.
In its parliamentary group report, the FPÖ speaks of an unconstitutional U-committee of the People’s Party and demands that U-committee requests should be reviewed by the Constitutional Court in the future.
In their parliamentary group report, the Greens speak of a “Blue Pact against Austria”, which has shown that the FPÖ has enriched itself at the expense of the population. They are calling for stricter espionage laws and an obligation to archive chats and emails and the transmission of U-committee surveys.
For the NEOS, the Red-Blue Abuse of Power U-Committee showed above all how great Russian influence is in Austria. They agree with the recommendation of the trial judges and call for a “Russia Investigative Committee”.
Committee report in the next plenary session
The report will now be on the agenda for the next National Council meeting. The work of the investigative committee officially ended on July 3rd. A new U-committee can only be re-established in the next legislative period.
The Red-Blue Abuse of Power U-Committee was provided with around 3.4 million pages, of which around 1.4 million pages were classified. A total of 17 comments from natural and legal persons were received on the committee and political group reports.
All reports are on the Available on the Parliament website. (final) pak
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