Austrian economic policy in 2020 was largely dominated by the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the implementation of the new government programme presented at the beginning of the year took a back seat, as did the solution of a number of structural problems facing the Austrian economy. This article summarises the main lines of economic development in 2020, focuses on the government's main economic policy measures and discusses the issues and necessary reform steps to be taken in 2021, such as climate policy or the long-term consolidation of public budgets. The references refer to in-depth WIFO research on the respective topics.