Militarily non-aligned, Austria is politically committed once morest the invasion of Ukraine, through sanctions once morest Russia. But, in the republic of the Alps, voices are being raised to go further, and join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
“What has long been a taboo, is now being seriously discussed.” Since the start of the war in Ukraine, Austria has been debating its military neutrality internationally, according to the Viennese newspaper The standard. Like Finland or Sweden, the republic of the Alps is not an integral part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Like the two Scandinavian states, it is now wondering regarding this choice, which has been enshrined in its Constitution since 1955.
“Neutrality remains at the heart of Austrian politics”, specifies the center-left newspaper. But the arguments put forward by its defenders – the improbability of a war in Europe and the possibility of cooperating militarily with other states without joining NATO – “now seem overwhelmed by reality”.
“It would be logical for Austria to reconsider its interests and its defense policy”, assures journalist Christian Ortner in the pages of the right-wing daily The press. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, “the accession of Austria, Sweden and Finland would be a symbolic gesture beyond measure, much stronger than a few lame sanctions once morest Russia”. A point of view shared in the same newspaper by the economist and European Union specialist Gunther Fehlinger, for whom the “European security” is now threatened. “Faced with this kind of attack, we cannot remain neutral”he assures.
No imminent danger
The idea, resumes The standard, however, is not unanimous. Despite being a supporter of abandoning neutrality in the 1990s, the conservative Andreas Khol (ÖVP) believes that “the people are not ready to leave it aside”.
For the former president of the National Council, the lower house of Austrian legislative power, the citizens
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Marie Daoudal