VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2022) Austria is unlikely to achieve the projected 1.5%-growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 as a lot depends on the issue of governmental support for enterprises, Austrian Minister of Digital and Economic Affairs Martin Kocher said on Tuesday.
"We relied on a forecast for the next year which predicted a 1.5%-growth. I assume it would not be realized," Kocher told reporters.
The minister also said that the economy growth would depend on whether the Austrian government would be able to assist the companies in the short-term amid increasing energy prices to keep them afloat in the coming months.
In July, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that the embargo on the Russian gas in the European Union was impossible as it would hurt the bloc more than Russia itself.
Europe is currently facing an unprecedented rise in energy prices and inflation exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis.
