Austrian People's Party

Austrian Chancellor and leader of the Austrian People's Party, Sebastian Kurz, announced the end of the coalition government with the Freedom Party of Austria after the resignation of Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache, announced by world agencies.

Austria's Supreme Prosecution Office has begun to investigate the secrecy funding of the ruling coalition of the Austrian Party of Freedom (APS) from abroad in exchange for access to state treaties. This was reported by the Secretary General of the Constitutional Affairs Ministry, Christian Pilnacek, for the Curie newspaper.

Austria's far-right Vice Chancellor lent support for Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik and his Alliance of Independent Social Democrats, SNSD, in the upcoming elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina at a meeting in Vienna on Monday, according to Bosnian media RTRS and ATV.

Austria is going through a transition, politically. On December 18, the Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) joined the coalition government led by young centre-right Federal Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (of Austrian People's Party or OVP), with the far-right Heinz-Christian Strache (of FPO) as his Vice Chancellor.

SYRIZA's junior coalition partner, Independent Greeks (ANEL), criticized European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday, accusing him of making "malicious" comments about the party after he likened it to the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which has just formed a government with the center-right Austrian People's Party (OVP) party.

Israel has made it clear that it will work with the new coalition government of Austria, composed of the conservative Austrian People's Party (ANP) and the extreme right Austrian Freedom Party (APA), but "so far" will have no direct contacts with the far-right ministers, the France press reported.

Austrian President Alexander van der Belen handed over a mandate to form a new government to the leader of the conservative Austrian People's Party Sebastian Kurtz, reports TASS. 

The event is held in the Hofburg Palace.

"Based on the election results, I give you the right to form a government as the party leader who won the majority of the votes," the head of state said.

Europe's migrant crisis cannot be solved with the construction of fences or walls at borders, Germany has said after Austria announced plans to erect fences on its border with Slovenia to slow the influx. 

Austria's interior minister on Tuesday sharply criticized recent statements by at least a couple of top Greek government officials who dangled an "idea" of issuing illegal migrants ? ones having entered in Greece ? with travel documents to travel to western Europe.

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is to arrive in Sofia Thursday at the invitation of his Bulgarian counterpart Daniel Mitov.