State Governors Gather for State Governors' Conference in Salzburg

The federal government, states, cities, and municipalities should be able to handle future joint tasks more efficiently and cost-effectively, said Salzburg's governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP) before the start of the state governors' conference. Concrete measures are not expected on Friday. The state governors' conference serves as the start for a comprehensive reform pact.

State Governors' Conference: Meeting with Government Leaders and Municipal Association

"It is obvious that a partnership approach is needed here to make the existing system in Austria more efficient, citizen-friendly, and service-oriented," emphasized Haslauer. In addition to the state leaders, Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker (ÖVP), Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler (SPÖ), and Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger (NEOS) as well as Municipal Association President Johannes Pressl will participate in the meeting. Together, they want to establish a steering group. As Haslauer pointed out, the challenges are of a similar nature at all levels: "Our endeavor aligns with many points of the federal government's program, which places great focus on deregulation, debureaucratization, and efficiency improvements."

Therefore, administrative simplifications, reduction of bureaucracy, and acceleration of administrative procedures are expected to play a major role on Friday, especially when it comes to the interaction between the territorial authorities. The conference program also includes substantive decisions in areas such as education, health, and energy. In the field of education, for example, the responsibilities of the federal and state governments are to be redefined. Another central point of the meeting: How can digital solutions, infrastructures, and technologies of public administrations, institutions, and services be used under the term "Governance Technology" - also involving artificial intelligence.

The venue on June 6 is the Hotel Krallerhof in Leogang. After the meeting of the state governors starting at 9:00 a.m., joint consultations with the leaders of the federal government are on the agenda in the late morning. Subsequently, the results will be presented in a press conference. This is expected to take place around 12:30 p.m. Incidentally, Haslauer is hosting the state governors' conference for the last time. He will hand over his office to Karoline Edtstadler on July 2.

(APA/Red)

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