On 28 May 2018, the Council imposed on Austria a fine of €26.82 million due to the manipulation of debt data in Salzburg state (Land Salzburg).

The fine relates to the misrepresentation of government debt data in 2012 and 2013, and follows an investigation launched by the Commission in May 2016.

The investigation found serious negligence in three Austrian public entities: the State Court of Audit, the State Office and the state government of Salzburg. The Commission issued a report in February 2017.

The three failed to ensure appropriate data compilation controls and data reporting procedures. This enabled the budget unit of the State Office to misrepresent and conceal financial transactions. It led to misreporting by Austria to Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, of its general government data in 2012 and 2013.

This is the second time a fine has been imposed for data manipulation under the EU's fiscal surveillance framework (regulation 1173/2011). The first was imposed on Spain in July 2015. Regulation 1173/2011 was adopted in 2011 as part of a strengthening of fiscal governance.

Data related to government deficit and debt are an essential input to economic policy coordination at EU level. The Council, acting upon a recommendation by the Commission, may decide to impose a fine on a member state for the purposes of enforcing budgetary surveillance in the euro area. The aim is to deter misrepresentation of deficit and debt data, whether intentional or due to serious negligence.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council, without discussion.