AUSTRIAN JUDGES AND PROSECUTORS ON STRIKE

VIENNA, OCTOBER 12 /SRNA–Reuters/ – Austrian judges and prosecutors have gone on strike over staff shortages in the justice system, demanding that the government fill vacant positions despite its efforts to reduce the budget deficit in line with EU rules.

As in many European countries, Austria’s justice system is struggling with delays and a growing backlog of cases.

To draw attention to the problem, judges and prosecutors across the country have stopped handling non-urgent cases this week.

"Stop! We simply cannot take this any longer. Prosecutors cannot continue like this. We have reached the limits of our capacity," Ana-Maria Vuković, deputy head of the Austrian Association of Prosecutors, said at a news conference.

The Austrian National Association of Judges estimates that the country currently has a shortage of more than 250 judges nationwide, while Vuković said the shortfall among prosecutors stands at around 70.

The Ministry of Justice said it sympathised with prosecutors and judges, but stressed that the government’s current priority was reducing the budget deficit, which stood at 4.1 per cent of gross domestic product /GDP/ last year, well above the EU limit of three per cent.