Asylum, Events, Overtime: How the Ministry of the Interior Saves

The budget of the Ministry of the Interior is increasing slightly in absolute numbers this year. This is shown by data provided to the APA by informed circles. The slight increase is mainly thanks to savings in the asylum chapter. Due to the decreasing occupancy of basic services, fewer expenditures are needed there. Savings must also be made in administration, the vehicle fleet, events, and overtime.

Reduced Expenditures in Asylum

Specifically, expenditures in the asylum chapter will decrease from 788 million to 693 million this year. With a further decline in asylum applications apparently expected by the ministry, they aim to manage with 621 million euros by 2026. Currently, around 62,000 people are in basic care. This is a third less than at the beginning of 2023. Accordingly, only eight federal quarters are now in operation. At the peak, there were 30.

In the second budget chapter affecting the Ministry of the Interior, the one for security, there is an increase from 4.01 to 4.16 billion euros. The total budget of the ministry amounts to 4.85 billion euros, up from 4.84 billion in the previous year. Compared to the budget success, the increase is slightly larger, as the budget was not fully utilized in the previous year. The figures for 2026 were not available to the APA.

The Ministry of the Interior is one of the personnel-intensive ministries. 75 percent of expenditures in the security chapter go to this area. Savings are now being made in administration. In the central office, only every third vacant or currently open position is to be filled. However, there should be no reduction in personnel "on the street." In metropolitan areas like Vienna, additional positions in police stations can even be created. The recruitment of new police officers will also continue.

Over 5 Million Overtime Hours

The focus is on overtime in the central administration of the ministry. After all, the BMI had no less than 5.6 million overtime hours last year. Savings are also being made in the areas of representation and events. The same applies to public relations, business trips, and grants. Savings are also planned for training and seminars. The necessary operational training for the security executive or, for example, deployment training remains unaffected.

Another point is the evaluation of the vehicle fleet, where the department sees potential for savings. In the government program, there was still hope to modernize the vehicle fleet. However, since then, the budget figures have significantly worsened.

FPÖ Criticizes Savings

The FPÖ criticized the savings. "Overtime is being cut, training sessions are canceled, police presence is not being increased but drastically reduced. This is not an expansion of security - this is the controlled downsizing of our security apparatus," raged FPÖ security spokesman Gernot Darmann in a statement, accusing Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) of "sleight of hand tricks."

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.