Declaration of Neutrality

Not to be confused with Proclamation of Neutrality.

The Declaration of Neutrality (German: Neutralitätserklärung) was a declaration by the Austrian Parliament declaring the country permanently neutral. It was enacted on 26 October 1955 as a constitutional act of parliament, i.e., as part of the Constitution of Austria.

Pursuant to resolution of the Federal Assembly of Parliament following the Austrian State Treaty, Austria declared "its permanent neutrality of its own accord". The second section of this law stated: "In all future times Austria will not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of any foreign military bases on her territory."

History

Formally, the declaration was promulgated voluntarily by the Republic of Austria. Politically, it was the direct consequence of the allied occupation by the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France between 1945 and 1955, from which the country was freed by the Austrian State Treaty of 15 May the same year. The Soviet Union would not have agreed to the State Treaty if Austria had not committed to declaring neutrality after the allied forces had left the country.

The Bundesgesetzblatt containing the Federal Constitutional Law on the Neutrality of Austria.

Since 1955, neutrality has become a deeply ingrained element of Austrian identity. An opinion poll from March 2022 found that 76% favored Austria remaining neutral, versus 18% who supported joining NATO.

Membership of Austria in the European Union (or its predecessor organizations) was controversial due to the Austrian commitment to neutrality. Austria only joined the bloc in 1995 together with Finland and Sweden which had also declared their neutrality in the Cold War, following a referendum on accession.

In 1995, Austria joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program, but only after Russia had done so.

In March 2023, Freedom Party politicians walked out of a speech delivered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Austrian parliament on the 400th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. They argued the speech violated Austria's neutrality and left placards reading "space for neutrality" and "space for peace" on their desks.

In 2023, Austria joined the European Sky Shield Initiative created in 2022 as a reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The project would fund a European missile defense system. The government argued that because their resources are being pooled with other countries, it is not a violation of their neutrality.

International collaborations

Austria engages in UN-led peacekeeping and other humanitarian missions. It participates in:

• KFOR, with up to 561 soldiers. This mission is alongside NATO forces. Other countries in this mission include Switzerland, even more well-known for its neutrality.
• EUFOR (former SFOR) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, since 2 December 2004 under European Union Command
• United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in Lebanon.

In 2023, Austria (and Switzerland) joined a coalition of European, mostly NATO-allied countries in the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), which is a project to build an integrated air defence system with anti-ballistic missile capability.

See also

• Austria–NATO relations
• Finlandization
• Irish neutrality
• Moldovan neutrality
• Swedish neutrality
• Swiss neutrality
• Neutral and Non-Aligned European States
• Neutral member states in the European Union

Bibliography

• Rolf Steininger: Der Staatsvertrag. Österreich im Schatten von deutscher Frage und Kaltem Krieg 1938-1955, 2005, 198 p., (Publisher: StudienVerlag, Innsbruck-Wien-Bozen) - Summary in English
• Manfried Rauchensteiner: Stalinplatz 4. Österreich unter alliierter Besatzung, 2005, 336 p., (Publisher: Edition Steinbauer, Wien)
• The Federal Constitutional Law on the Neutrality of Austria in English

• Кружков В.А. (2022). Нейтралитет Австрии. Становление - практика - перспективы. М.: Аспект Пресс. ISBN 978-5-7567-1198-1.