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Austria stops Turkish-language driving tests

July 26, 2018 at 3:45 pm

Learner drivers in Austria will no longer be able to take their written driving test in Turkish, according to the country’s transportation minister.

Norbert Hofer, of the anti-Islam Freedom Party, said the move was an effort to cut costs and hoped it would also provide “encouragement to learn German”.

Some 270,000 people with Turkish roots live in Austria and last year 3,631 of the 300,000 driving tests taken were completed in Turkish.

“Each additional language for training costs the state a five-figure sum that isn’t justifiable,” Hofer told public radio station O1.

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Relations between Turkey and Austria have been strained in recent months over a host of issues, including Vienna’s stance towards migrants and its opposition to Ankara’s EU membership bid.

During last year’s Turkish referendum on expanding the president’s powers, tensions ran high between Vienna and Ankara after Austria said it would not allow campaign-related events.