Former ÖVP Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik is calling for a new security doctrine and an “option report” on Austria’s security policy in connection with the neutrality debate. “Austrian security policy has been dormant for almost a quarter of a century. We cannot afford to sleep for decades,” Plassnik said at a conference in Grundlsee in Styria’s Salzkammergut. She indirectly criticized Defense Secretary Klaudia Tanner.
The once close colleague of ex-chancellor Wolfgang Bowl (ÖVP) spoke out for a broad and open discussion. It is high time for an “update” of the security doctrine, which is now ten years old. A lot has happened in Europe since then: cyber attacks, land grabs with the annexation of Crimea, migration crises, terrorist attacks, accession to NATO, the Corona crisis and most recently the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
Call for “careful risk analysis”
A “careful, impartial and EU-compliant current risk analysis” is therefore needed. Plassnik’s suggestion would be an “options report” for 2022. The first attempt at such an “option report” failed in 1998 because the SPÖ did not want to accept the option to explore NATO membership at the time.
A number of questions should be answered for a new edition: “What offers Austria the best security? How do we still interpret our neutrality today? Who guarantees our neutrality?” With Finland and Sweden joining NATO, 23 EU countries will now join NATO. Only Ireland, Malta, Cyprus and Austria will then not be part of the North Atlantic Defense Alliance. “What does this mean for the future of European security and defense policy? Who will set the tone?” According to Plassnik, the future orientation of the Austrian armed forces also needs to be clarified.
NATO’s only “security guarantee”
Austria has been participating in the NATO-led KFOR mission in Kosovo for 23 years – “completely undisputed domestically”. However, the word NATO has become a bad word. “Although in the light of day it is our only, albeit informal, ‘safety guarantee’,” says Plassnik. “Anyone opposed to NATO membership should logically examine neutrality soberly in terms of functionality, suitability for protecting the population and the interests of the republic.”
Neutrality has worked well for a long time, but now a social debate is needed about further development. Austria is a “stowaway” when it comes to security policy. Our neighbors, the NATO members, paid for the insurance policy. “We don’t get any further with apple strudel cheeks, while others are expected to defend us with weapons in hand.” Plassnik also had a quote from Schüssel ready: “Our heraldic animal is the federal eagle, not the ostrich.”
Criticism and Tanner Statement
That the Austrians “carry neutrality in their hearts”, as Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) recently said, was acknowledged by Plassnik by pointing out that a point for a sensible security policy should not be missing. “Headless doesn’t make it better either.”
Source: Krone
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