Vienna is at the heart of Eurobusiness

Since adopting the euro, business in Austria has been booming. Vienna is back on the world map, with its obvious attractions as a city as well as a business centre leading to increased interest from corporations who know that to keep their employees happy, the entire package—including quality of life outside work—must be attractive.

As a result the city has been reinventing itself, which is physically evident in the regeneration of areas such as the 7th and 20th Districts. This regeneration has led to much more business space, such as state-of-the-art offices, being built as well as many more business opportunities being created.

The government has also been actively involved with encouraging new business to Vienna, strategically cutting the corporate tax rate from 34% to 25%.

Individual Austrians may not be happy about the changes the euro has introduced into their lives, but as a business initiative, it was a superb decision. Vienna is now being marketed as a great place to do business, building on the changing face of European business in the light of EU regulations and a single currency. EU funding has also been instrumental in building up new businesses based in Vienna.

For much of the second half of the 20th century, Austria was largely ignored by industries and companies based in the UK and America. Even after the anti-Germanic feeling created by two world wars was overcome, Austria tended to be overlooked in favour of Germany itself. This has finally changed.

Today Austria in general, and Vienna in particular, is being taken seriously— and being courted by—global corporations. Its location in the centre of Europe, a gateway between eastern and western Europe, is as important now as it was in the 19th century. In addition, education levels in Austria are high, which crucially means that business is conducted just as freely in English as its the native language of German.