Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Tuesday that he and other allies from eastern Europe were seeking a “correction mechanism” on the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines within the EU, Reuters reported.

Austria's Chancellor Sebastian Kurz plans to visit Israel with Danish PM Mette Frederiksen on Thursday and confer with PM Benjamin Netanyahu on vaccine research and production cooperation, AP reported. Kurz told the Austria Press Agency (APA) that Austria and Denmark “will no longer rely on the EU in the future and will in the coming years produce doses of second-generation vaccine for further mutations of the coronavirus together with Israel as well as researching jointly treatment possibilities.”

Austria’s government on Monday made its much anticipated announcement on the country's lockdown, news wires reported. While the lockdown will be extended beyond its current end date of 8 February, some measures look set to be relaxed. At the same time, speaking at a news conference, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz pledged to toughen border controls to keep out the Brazilian variant of the coronavirus.

Austria entered its third coronavirus lockdown on Saturday following a relaxation of rules over Christmas, dpa reported. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said he expected a third wave of infections across Europe in early 2021, before testing and vaccinations would bring relief in the summer. "I believe that tests will become an absolute normality in the coming months, like brushing your teeth every day," Kurz told broadcaster ORF.

Austria will allow skiing to start on 24 December, but will limit the capacity of ski lifts and keep restaurants, bars and hotels largely closed until early January, officials said on Wednesday. It also will require many people entering the country over the Christmas period to go into quarantine, news wires reported.

Austria's government on Saturday announced a return to a national hard lockdown on Tuesday, including shutting schools and non-essential shops to contain spiralling second wave of COvid-19 infections, news wires reported. The new restrictions will apply until at least 6 December.

Austria plans to make it possible for courts to imprison those convicted of terrorism-related offences for as long as they are deemed a threat, the government said on Wednesday cited by Reuters. The move follows a shooting rampage in Vienna last week in which a convicted jihadist who had been released early from prison killed four people before being shot dead by police.

The EU leaders are readying an initiative against Islamist extremism, news wires reported citing sources close to the matter. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will take part in a phone call on Tuesday with other European leaders to discuss the initiative, two participants in a call with her CDU party leadership said.

Austria's most prestigious ball, an annual event at the Vienna State Opera, will not take place in February due to the continuing health risk, the government announced on Wednesday. "This decision was not easy," Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said in a statement, cited by dpa. "But we opted for the cancellation, as infections happen especially at parties and festivities."

EU asylum reform should mainly focus on protecting the bloc's external borders, the fight against people smugglers and on local aid to prevent migration flows to Europe, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz told dpa in an interview in Vienna. The conservative politician rejects distribution concepts that would oblige countries to take in refugees.