Overview
- Finance Minister Albert Füracker, who delivered a government statement Tuesday, said first‑phase relocations have begun at 64 of 65 sites with 2,513 employees and students already working there and completion targeted by the end of 2028.
- The program runs in two stages that move state authorities to rural towns, with the first covering 65 entities for about 2,500 jobs and 730 study places and the second adding 14 more by 2030 for roughly 2,700 jobs and 440 study places.
- The government estimates a total economic benefit of about €460 million for recipient communities and says large cities have freed roughly 37,000 square meters of space as offices shift out.
- Posts are moved by filling vacancies at new locations rather than forcing staff to relocate, and officials report about 1,250 voluntary transfers, which they say has cut commute times and kept people closer to home.
- Opposition leaders back decentralization in principle but question value for money and local readiness, with critiques ranging from missing services like clinics and buses to an example of a planned archive move priced at €83 million for about 20 jobs.