Austrian parties agree to launch full coalition talks

Coalition talks after elections, in Vienna

VIENNA (Reuters) – The three Austrian parties currently in the so-called “sounding out” phase of talks on forming a new government have agreed to launch full-blown coalition talks, conservative Chancellor Karl Nehammer, who is leading the process, said on Monday.

Nehammer made the announcement to the media with leader of the Social Democrats, Andreas Babler and the leader of the liberal Neos, Beate Meinl-Reisinger. The move means talks will shift from a handful of officials from each party to breaking down the talks by subject, each with their own teams.

(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Toby Chopra)