VIENNA (dpa) – The government and opposition are rapidly heading for a showdown on the future of Austria’s “perpetual neutrality”.
Stymied by an opposition blocking minority, the government cannot scrap neutrality and lead the country straight into NATO as it would wish.But in line with European solidarity, the government insists that neutrality is obsolete and wants fundamental changes.From the outside, an attentive and disapproving onlooker is Russia, whose president Vladimir Putin will visit Austria this week.The most significant government change is a planned new law which would allow foreign troops to enter Austrian territory. This has been an absolute taboo since 1955 when the country passed its Neutrality Law.The opposition Social Democrats (SP) and Greens categorically rule out any erosion of neutrality.SP spokesman on Europe, ex-minister Caspar Einem, says it is “impossible” that Austrian soldiers take part in EU military missions which have not been sanctioned by the United Nations.Equally impossible was that without a UN mandate, NATO combat jets could fly over Austria, Einem said in the newspaper Kurier on Monday.SP leader in parliament Peter Kostelka said if the government pushed the changes through with its majority, “recourse to the Constitutional Court will be unavoidable.”The SP points out that neutrality law is part of the constitution, and can only be changed by two-thirds majority. The Social Democrats, who have 65 of parliament’s 183 seats, say they would never allow that.The conservative-rightist government, on the other hand, wants full involvement in a crystallizing European security and defence system.Planned is EU military intervention for peace-keeping and prevention of conflicts, even if there is no United Nations mandate covering it.The Kurier said on Monday that if Austria wanted full part, the 1996 law on the “Import, Export and Transit of War Materials” would have to be amended.A joint EU defence system also needed clear rules on allowing in foreign forces.The coalition of conservative People’s Party (VP) and right-wing Freedom Party (FP) has already brought in a law on the presence of foreign troops, and plans to vote it through parliament by simple majority in the next few weeks.But Kostelka said that was a “clear breach of the core areas of the Neutrality Law.”The “core area” is in three parts: no taking part in wars, no stationing of foreign troops on Austrian soil, no membership of a military alliance.Kostelka threatened “a mega-dispute.” The SP would block the entire security doctrine. “If that happens, the thread of consensus in security-policy will be torn.”Neutrality is a predicament for any Austrian government against it. Even now, opinion polls say more than two-thirds of Austrians want to keep it on.On May 15, 1955, the four World War Two Allies and Austria signed the State Treaty giving the country full independence and ending military occupation exactly ten years after the war.On October 26 the same year, Austrian Parliament declared the country “perpetually neutral.”Official Austrian history implies the two events were unrelated.But there is no doubt that behind the scenes, big-power dealing brought an “independence-in-exchange-for-neutrality” swap, with the Soviet Union desperate to keep Austria out of the western alliance.More recently, In February 1999 Austria readily accepted the help of NATO helicopters for a mass evacuation of tourists after an avalanche disaster at Galtuer in Tyrol.A few months afterwards, the Austrians under their neutrality denied NATO combat aircraft overflight permission for the Kosovo conflict, which did not have a UN mandate. The planes had to detour eastwards over Slovakia.This was a source of embarrassment particularly to conservative Austrian politicians, who said the country was being forced into a hypocritical position by its own laws.The present flare-up of the neutrality-versus-NATO debate began when Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel recently declared neutrality had no further point within the context of European solidarity.The controversy will be on everyone’s minds this week with Putin’s visit starting Thursday evening.Russian ambassador Alexander Golovin has already attacked the government’s rejection of Austrian neutrality. For Russia, Austria’s neutrality was permanent.He said that in 1955, Austria had with its State Treaty and Neutrality Law entered a commitment under international law.“But the discussion is moving in a way as if it were up to the Republic of Austria on its own to declare itself free or not.”Golovin rejected Austria joining NATO. “Any expansion of a military alliance in which we are not involved towards our borders means a threat to Russia.”In various interviews afterwards, Schuessel rejoined: “In truth, he hasn’t got a word to say. That’s a decision we’ll make entirely on our own.”Schuessel also said: “I would support entry to NATO. But we’ll only take the step when we know that we’ll get a majority.”
