Price Database Until 2026 "Very Ambitious" for Statistics Austria Chief

"We do not have the data," explained Statistik Austria's head Manuela Lenk in an interview with APA. They are generally open to new tasks, but the government has not yet made direct contact, and they will carefully examine how implementation can take place, said Lenk.

Price Database to Help Combat Inflation

With the database announced at the government retreat this week, which Statistik Austria is supposed to build according to the cabinet decision, the government aims to identify unjustified pricing policies along the value chain and thus counteract inflation in the food sector. In general, Austria is now "really well" positioned in terms of data availability, according to the head of statistics at the statistics authority. The research database Austrian Micro Data Center (AMDC) is receiving high international recognition. She positively assesses the commitment of the three-party coalition that, after the sluggish release of data by the ministries, all federally established register data, with the exception of national security, should be fully linked to the AMDC by July 1, 2026.

Statistik Austria Head Sees Government on Track with Implementation of EU Data Governance Act

Lenk also sees the government on track with the implementation of the EU's Data Governance Act (DGA), for which the EU Commission initiated infringement proceedings against Austria last year due to delays. The directive was implemented with the Data Access Act passed in July. Statistik Austria plays an important role in its implementation. It is no longer just about Open Data, but about making the data landscape more visible and enabling the exchange of protected data, said Lenk. She does not regret that the Federal Chancellery takes on the role of central information point and not directly the statistics authority as in Germany or Switzerland. To encourage the ministries to report their data there as quickly as possible, the Federal Chancellery can certainly act as a "motor," she believes.

Budget Situation of Statistik Austria Remains Challenging

Lenk sees a challenge for the future in the budget situation of Statistik Austria, despite the increase of the basic flat rate by 13 million euros to 69.4 million for the coming year. So far, Statistik Austria has been financed through the flat rate and a shareholder subsidy. "From 2026, there will only be the flat rate, which has now - considering the total financing - been absolutely reduced by three million and will not be adjusted until 2029," said Lenk.

Lenk, who was recently Deputy Director of the Federal Statistical Office in Switzerland, returned to Statistik Austria as head of statistics on September 1, where she began in 2004. She does not want her departure in 2019 as the then head of the register census to be understood in connection with the then turbulence around attempts at political influence by the turquoise-blue government. Due to her personal life path as a school dropout who initially was head of payroll at Ernst & Young before taking the university entrance exam as a mother of young children and studying sociology, she never had the chance to go abroad. Therefore, she took the opportunity after the offer from Switzerland, said Lenk.

(APA/Red)

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