Heckling in the hall

OMV meeting: handful of activists cause a riot

Activists from the NGO Attac have gathered in front of the Vienna exhibition hall.

(Bild: APA/THOMAS KARABACZEK)

A handful of activists disrupted the OMV Annual General Meeting on Tuesday. The NGO Attac stood with a dozen activists in front of the exhibition hall in Vienna, three activists then caused a commotion in the hall.

They chanted their demands, including the socialization of OMV, for a few minutes before they were peacefully escorted out. The shareholders present observed the events in a relaxed manner for the time being.

Boos for vociferous activists, applause for security forces
The atmosphere was less relaxed when, after the start of OMV CEO Alfred Stern's speech, another activist disrupted the event with loud heckling. There were boos and unfriendly reactions from the audience.

After a few minutes, the activist was forced out of the room by security staff to the applause of the shareholders, as he did not want to leave voluntarily when asked to do so by Supervisory Board Chairman Lutz Feldmann.

Crucial point Gazprom
There should be no major differences regarding OMV's business performance, as the partly state-owned group has presented good annual figures. It is expected that the two major shareholders ÖBAG (Republic of Austria) and ADNOC (Abu Dhabi National Oil Company), which together hold more than 56 percent, will carry all decisions through. Tension could arise at most in the case of critical questions about Austria's gas supply and possible delivery stops by the Russian Gazprom due to lawsuits.