Constitutional Court annuls ESM secondary-market subcommittee rules from Austria's parliamentary procedure law
Austria's Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) annulled, via BGBl. I Nr. 52/2026, provisions of the National Council's Rules of Procedure that would have established a dedicated standing subcommittee for European Stability Mechanism (ESM) secondary-market interventions, together with the related ESM Information Order (Annex 2). The change takes effect from 17 July 2026.
What changed
The Constitutional Court struck down §32f (the standing subcommittee for ESM secondary-market affairs), §32k (its authorisation powers), §74e paragraph 2 (the corresponding agenda items), the related document-distribution paragraph of §74f, and the entire Annex 2 (ESM Information Order for secondary-market matters). These provisions had never entered into force because the statutory precondition regarding secondary-market information rules had not yet been met.
Who is affected
Members of the National Council's Budget Committee and parliamentary party clubs that were to nominate representatives to the secondary-market subcommittee are directly affected. The competent Federal Minister is no longer subject to specific reporting and submission obligations toward the now-removed subcommittee on ESM secondary-market interventions.
What to look out for
The general ESM Standing Subcommittee (§32f paragraph 1 item 2, covering all other ESM matters) and Annex 3 (the ESM Information Order for non-secondary-market ESM affairs) remain fully intact. Austria no longer has a dedicated parliamentary approval mechanism for its representative's voting on ESM secondary-market interventions.