Land Salzburg: Austria fined for misreporting government debt data

On 28 May 2018, the Council imposed on Austria a fine of €26.82 million due to the manipulation of debt data in Salzburg state (Land Salzburg).

The fine relates to the misrepresentation of government debt data in 2012 and 2013, and follows an investigation launched by the Commission in May 2016.

The investigation found serious negligence in three Austrian public entities: the State Court of Audit, the State Office and the state government of Salzburg. The Commission issued a report in February 2017.

The three failed to ensure appropriate data compilation controls and data reporting procedures. This enabled the budget unit of the State Office to misrepresent and conceal financial transactions. It led to misreporting by Austria to Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, of its general government data in 2012 and 2013.

Read the full press release here.

Visit the meeting the page on the website of the Council of the European Union.