Overview
- Vice Chancellor Andreas Babler and Women’s Minister Eva‑Maria Holzleitner said Wednesday they will reallocate €150,000 each to fund ZARA through 2026.
- ZARA called the money a short-term stabilizer and said it cannot rehire all dismissed staff, though its free legal and counseling help for targets of online hate will continue.
- The Family Ministry under Claudia Bauer halted its roughly €330,000 annual grant retroactive to January, citing budget limits and saying state bodies like the Equal Treatment Authority can do the documentation work.
- Coalition rifts widened as NEOS said the cut was not coordinated, the ÖVP framed the SPÖ move as wasteful duplication, the FPÖ questioned legal responsibility, and Greens welcomed the bridge but faulted the process.
- ZARA is a designated “Trusted Flagger,” meaning platforms prioritize its takedown reports under the EU’s Digital Services Act; the group previously received federal backing of €470,000, then €300,000, then €330,000 a year, and long-term financing remains unresolved.