Austria considers bombshell move: will it abandon neutrality and join NATO?
Austria is open to reconsidering its long-standing neutrality and engaging in a broader public debate on potential NATO membership, Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said Saturday in an interview with German daily Die Welt.
Meinl-Reisinger emphasised that neutrality alone is no longer sufficient to guarantee Austria’s security in light of Russia’s growing aggression and an increasingly unstable global environment.
“One thing is clear: neutrality alone does not protect us. What protects Austria… is investment in our own defence capabilities, but also in partnerships,” she was quoted by the daily as saying.
Although Meinl-Reisinger acknowledged that there is currently no parliamentary or public majority in favour of joining NATO, she expressed a willingness to start a public debate about the country’s security and defence policy.
“I am fundamentally very open to a public debate about Austria’s security and defence policy future,” she said. “It’s not that I wanted to join NATO with flying colours. But we can’t sit back and say: If we don’t hurt anyone, no one will hurt us. That would be naive. The world has changed,” she added.
Austria has upheld a policy of military neutrality since 1955, a stance that remains constitutionally enshrined.
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