The price of EU preidency for Austria: 110 million dollars

The price of EU preidency for Austria: 110 million dollars

The amount resulted from US$89.6 million of state expenditure and US$21.1 million for hiring temporary staff during its presidency, from Jan. 1 to June 30, ministry spokesman Manfred Lepuschitz said.

He indicated that the Ђ 70 million was on par with other countries that have held the EU presidency, the AP reports.

The figures announced Tuesday were preliminary and could vary some 5 percent once final numbers are calculated, Lepuschitz said.

The EU presidency for Austria has created 2,700 new jobs and helped the country boost its image in the fields of finance and economy, Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser told reporters earlier Tuesday.