📋 Tender Overview
As an essential step towards improving the recruitment of personnel for the militia, the WRÄG 2024 contains a militia training allowance ("education cheque"). For each day of a militia exercise performed, it should be possible to save it and, at the request of the person concerned, it should be possible to pay it out for the purpose of vocational training measures. In addition, the possibility of a leave of absence in connection with the birth of a child ("parental month") as well as a hardship regulation in the event of disadvantages under social security law are provided. The introduction of a new medal of bravery is intended to create the opportunity to honour special achievements in the context of missions of the Austrian Armed Forces. Other new regulations concern administrative simplifications when changing types of military service, leave of absence and foreign assignments. After a separate vote at the request of the FPÖ, the WRÄG was adopted by a majority.
An amendment tabled by Mario Lindner (SPÖ), which provides for an "actual legal entitlement" to the "parental month" without a factual approval requirement, remained in the minority. The aim is to achieve a higher participation of fathers in childcare more quickly.
A motion for a resolution tabled by the NEOS in the course of the debate, which aims to amend the "Federal Constitutional Act on Cooperation and Solidarity in the Deployment of Units and Individuals Abroad" (KSE-BVG), also failed to find a majority. Citing a resolution of the National Council of October 2022, applicant Douglas Hoyos-Trauttmansdorff (NEOS) calls for the insertion of an urgency clause, the clarification of the deployment criteria and the explicit reference to European activities within the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in the text of the law by the end of July 2024 at the latest. Above all, participation in the Rapid Deployment Capacity (rapid reaction force within the framework of the EU's Strategic Compass) would make these adjustments necessary, according to the motion.
