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TheDeclaration of Neutrality (German:Neutralitätserklärung) was a declaration by theAustrian Parliament declaring the country permanentlyneutral. It was enacted on 26 October 1955 as a constitutional act of parliament, i.e., as part of theConstitution of Austria.[1]
Pursuant to resolution of the Federal Assembly of Parliament following theAustrian State Treaty, Austria declared "its permanent neutrality of its own accord".[2] 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."[3]
Formally, the declaration was promulgated voluntarily by theRepublic of Austria. Politically, it was the direct consequence of theAllied occupation by theSoviet Union, theUnited States, theUnited Kingdom, andFrance between 1945 and 1955. Prior to that,Stalin's government in theUSSR did not want to withdraw from its occupation zone in Austria, which includedVienna, and considered creating an pro-Soviet buffer State in Austria, similar toEast Germany. The USSR finally agreed to withdraw its occupation forces from Austria only in 1955, afterNikita Khrushchev came to power and abandoned theStalin’s policy of confrontation with the West in favor of peaceful co-existence.[4][5] However, the Soviet Union refused to sign theAustrian State Treaty and to withdraw its troops, unless Austria had committed to declaring neutrality.[6][7] The actual withdrawal was completed on October 25, 1955, 90-days after the Austrian Parliament ratified theAustrian State Treaty, as an amendment to Article 9a of its 1920Constitution.
Since 1955,[8][9] neutrality has become a deeply ingrained element of Austrian identity.[10] During theCold War not only Austria maintained trade and other relations withWarsaw Pact andCOMECON countries, but it also refused to implement the sanctions againstSouth Rhodesia imposed by theUnited Nations in 1965.[11]
In 1995, prior to joining theEuropean Union, Austria held a referendum on whether to approve constitutional amendments, allowing for such membership.[12] One of these amendments allowed Austria to participate the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the Union, while maintaining the country's general policy of permanent neutrality.[13]
In the following years, Austria opposed theUS-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, did not join the "coalition of the willing",[14] and even banned the flights on NATO military planes over its territory,[15] because this operation was not authorized by theUnited Nations.
An opinion poll from March 2022 found that 76% favored Austria remaining neutral, versus 18% who supportedjoining NATO.[16]
Membership of Austria in theEuropean Union (or its predecessor organizations) was controversial due to the Austrian constitutional commitment to neutrality, which could have been in contradiction with the EU'sCommon Security and Defense Policy. Austria only joined thebloc in1995 together withFinland andSweden which had also declared their neutrality in the Cold War, following areferendum on accession.[17][18]
In 1995, Austria joinedNATO'sPartnership for Peace program, but only after Russia had done so.[19][20]
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Since theRusso-Ukrainian war in 2022, the Austrian government has signaled a willingness to challenge Austria’s long-standing constitutional policy of neutrality.[21][22] A recent study, based on the data collected in 2024, concluded that Austrians had a more favorable view of Ukrainian refuges, compared to those from other countries.[23] However, Austrian public opinion strongly favors neutrality and is strongly against Austria joining NATO.[24]
On March 30, 2023,Freedom Party of Austria members walked out of a speech delivered via video by Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr 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.[25]
On July 7, 2023, Austria joined theEuropean Sky Shield Initiative created in 2022 as a reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The project would fund the development of a missile defense system for Europe. The Austrian government argued that, because their resources are being pooled with other countries, this initiative was not a violation of neutrality.[26]
Austriaengages in UN-led peacekeeping and other humanitarian missions. It participates in:
In 2023, Austria (and Switzerland) joined a coalition of European, mostly NATO-allied countries in theEuropean Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), which is a project to build an integrated air defence system with anti-ballistic missile capability.
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