Declaration of Neutrality

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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.^[1] Pursuant to resolution of the Federal Assembly of Parliament following the Austrian State Treaty, Austria declared "its permanent neutrality of its own accord."^[2] The second section of this law stated that "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."

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 herself to declare her neutrality after the allied forces had left the country.^[3]

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

Since 1955,^{[4][better source needed]} neutrality has become a deeply ingrained element of Austrian identity. Membership of Austria in the European Union (or its predecessor organizations) was controversial due to the Austrian commitment to neutrality and Austria only joined the block in 1995 together with two Nordic countries which had also declared their neutrality in the Cold War; Sweden and Finland. In 1995, Austria joined NATO's Partnership for Peace program, but only after Russia had done so.

Collaboration in the present day[]

In the present day, 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.

References[]

• 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

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