Also on 18 June 2026 Integration Minister Claudia Bauer announced a legislative package that will embed all six autochthonous Volksgruppen—the Croatian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Slovak, Czech and Roma communities—directly in the Austrian constitution. At present only the Croatian and Slovenian groups enjoy explicit constitutional recognition under Article 7 of the State Treaty of 1955; the others are mentioned merely in secondary regulations. The reform is intended to close that gap and to underline equal treatment before EU Fundamental Rights monitoring begins next year. To make the policy more than symbolic, the cabinet will create a permanent “Volksgruppenforum” bringing together ministry officials, business groups and civil-society representatives to discuss language rights, schooling and labour-market participation. One immediate priority is staffing bilingual courts in Carinthia, where retirements risk reducing access to Slovenian-language proceedings for cross-border workers and their families. For the mobility industry the move has two practical implications. First, multinational companies sending staff to Austria’s border regions may soon find more consistent bilingual public services, easing compliance for posted workers from Slovenia, Hungary or Slovakia. Second, constitutional anchoring gives minority-language education and media a stronger footing, which could help retain skilled graduates in regions that struggle with outward migration. Bauer framed the initiative as a forward-looking economic measure as much as a cultural one: “Diversity is a locational advantage in a talent-driven economy.” Employers therefore have an interest in supporting the forum—either by seconding experts or by integrating minority-language upskilling into internal mobility packages. Draft constitutional language is scheduled to reach Parliament in September, with a two-thirds majority needed. Opposition parties have signalled conditional support, making adoption this year likely. If passed, Austria will become one of the first EU states to give every recognised minority full constitutional status, setting a benchmark ahead of the Commission’s 2027 report on minority inclusion.
Source: Bundeskanzleramt Österreich
