The debate over the “myth” of Austrian neutrality has flared up in the neighboring country, headlines Hungary’s online portal “infostart.hu”. Expert Tamás Levente Molnár emphasized to the APA that there would probably not be a clear majority for NATO membership in a referendum.
According to the researcher of the Hungarian Institute of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the “value” of Austrian neutrality, announced in 1955, has decreased significantly. “Austria’s neutrality ended de facto when it joined the EU,” explains Molnár. With its EU membership, Austria has become part of the common European foreign and security policy. However, the Russian aggression against Ukraine did not spark a discourse about a concrete change in neutrality status.
Concessions through Austria’s NATO arms transfers
Molnár pointed out that Austria supports EU sanctions related to Russia’s war in Ukraine and makes more concessions, for example regarding NATO arms transfers by the country, than NATO country Hungary. Austria’s previous status of not belonging to any bloc, neither NATO nor the Warsaw Pact, offered the country the role of neutral mediator, but it is playing that to a lesser extent, Molnár said.
Neutral intermediaries, such as Austria, Finland and Sweden, are given less and less leeway. The fear of a Russian threat is much smaller in Austria than in Russia’s neighboring countries Finland and Sweden, which are close to Russia. Austria, on the other hand, is surrounded by NATO countries that guarantee a safety net.
Molnár recalled that Russian friendship in Austrian politics has often been a very serious topic in international debates in the past. Several Austrian parties had taken an extremely “permissive stance” towards Moscow, not only the FPÖ, but also the SPÖ and the ÖVP. However, this position would change in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. Molnár stressed that the issue of maintaining Austria’s neutrality in the EU could lead to the country’s isolation if the Union adopts a common defense policy.
According to a recent survey for the news magazine “profil”, the planned NATO accession of Finland and Sweden will not affect the opinion of the Austrians. 70 percent of the respondents are in favor of maintaining neutrality. Chancellor Karl Nehammer also recently stated that this is not up for debate – see tweet above.
Source: Krone
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