Invitation from Sobotka – Zelenskyj will give a virtual speech in parliament in March

There was no vote on this during the Presidential Conference. The reason for this is that formally it is not a meeting, but an event for the plenum. After the speech there is a short debate with Selenskyj.

Last June, the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefantschuk, gave a speech at the Hofburg. A circuit with Selenskyj was canceled at the time due to resistance from the FPÖ. The Ukrainian president has now been heard in most European parliaments. So far, the governments of Bulgaria and Hungary have offered no option.

No consensus on Austria’s position
The parties in the National Council disagree on Austria’s position in the war in Ukraine. The FPÖ announced a petition for an “active peace and neutrality policy instead of warmongering”. She sees herself as a defender of neutrality. FPÖ Secretary General Christian Hafenecker said a negotiating table and “not just any gun bazaars” were needed, as well as an end to sanctions against Russia. Austria must work for a ceasefire, not join a military alliance and stop financial transfers to Ukraine.

The NEOS announced a round table discussion on the future of Austrian security policy. To this end, they invite other parties and the signatories of a letter calling for an open debate on neutrality. According to leader Beate Meinl-Reisinger, the FPÖ are “friends of Putin Austria” and their behavior is “deeply anti-patriotic”.

“Austria’s security preconditions have fundamentally changed over the past year, but the security strategy is the same as it was ten years ago,” said SPÖ spokesman Robert Laimer. The country’s security strategy must be renegotiated, but without affecting neutrality.