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Austria New Focus on Europe
After Kreisky's departure from the political scene in 1983,
Austrian foreign policy became more focused on European matters
and less on global issues. This shift was caused partly by the
increase in tensions between the United States and the Soviet
Union, as United States diplomacy under President Ronald Reagan
became more confrontational. In this climate, Austria's room to
pursue a foreign policy of mediation was more constricted.
Concern that the country faced exclusion from the increasing
political and economic integration of Europe being pursued by the
European Community (EC) was another factor that came to exert
strong influence on Austrian diplomacy. The traditional concept
of Austrian neutrality had held that membership in the EC was not
possible or desirable, even though the EC was not a military
alliance. The idea of ceding even limited areas of political and
economic sovereignty to a supranational organization was seen as
incompatible with neutrality.
As an alternative to the EC, Austria had joined with Britain,
Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and Switzerland to form the
European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960. EFTA was
restricted to facilitating trade among its members and did not
involve the ceding of sovereign powers. Austria also negotiated a
special economic arrangement with the EC in 1972 that allowed for
the duty-free exchange of industrial manufactured goods.
By the mid-1980s, the opinion of Austria's political elites
had changed in favor of seriously considering the advantages and
disadvantages of EC membership. Many argued that Austria could
not expect to guarantee its economic future if it remained
outside the EC. Two-thirds of Austria's trade was with members of
the EC, with the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) by
far its largest trading partner. There was also a fear that the
country could become isolated within Europe as ideological
barriers between East and West were lowered.
A long period of debate among the major parties over EC
membership began in 1987, and the cabinet established a working
group to examine the issue. It gradually became clear that,
despite some misgivings over the expected impact of EC membership
in certain areas, the two major parties, the ÖVP and SPÖ, favored
applying for entry. The trade unions had some concerns about EC
membership's diminishing their strong bargaining powers in the
Austrian system of social partnership, but they, too, generally
favored joining
(see Social Partnership
, ch. 3). There was also
widespread concern that the high volume of highway traffic
passing through Austria en route to West Germany and Italy was
damaging the country's environment
(see Ecological Concerns
, ch.
2). Many Austrians believed that their country's environmental
laws were stricter than those of the EC. The priority of
protecting the environment led the Green deputies in parliament
to oppose joining the EC.
Within the two major parties, there was little concern over
the neutrality issue, and government leaders pointed out that
although the EC might someday add a military dimension to its
structure, for the foreseeable future it would remain primarily
an economic union with aspirations of developing greater
political unity. The new climate of glasnost in the Soviet
Union ushered in by Mikhail Gorbachev led Austrian leaders to
expect no objection from Moscow to an Austrian decision to seek
EC membership, and this expectation proved true.
The government reached an internal consensus in favor of
applying for membership in June 1989, and the following month,
Foreign Minister Alois Mock delivered the application to the EC
Commission in Brussels. Chancellor Vranitzky emphasized to his
countrymen that during the upcoming negotiations with Brussels
his government would seek clear understandings on the maintenance
of environmental standards and the preservation of Austria's
advanced social welfare system. Vranitzky also asserted that the
issue of limiting the volume of motor vehicle traffic passing
through Austrian territory would be handled separately from the
application to join the EC. Austria's application met with a
chilly reception from some quarters in Europe, especially from a
few politicians who argued that the admission of a neutral
country could hinder efforts at coordinating the foreign policies
of the EC's members. However, the momentous events of late 1989
and 1990--the freeing of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland from
Soviet domination and there unification of Germany--made it clear
to all observers that Austrian neutrality would take on a new
dimension and might even be jettisoned altogether. The
disintegration of the communist system in the Soviet Union in
late 1991 further reinforced the impression that neutrality was
of little relevance in the new Europe.
In August 1991, after an examination of the Austrian
application, the EC issued an initial assessment that was
predominantly favorable. By late 1993, negotiations between
Austria and the European Union (EU), the organization's name as
of November 1993, were continuing over the terms of membership.
Most observers expected that the EU and Austria would be able to
reach an agreement on Austrian entry and that the country would
join the EU in January 1995. The main issues involved limiting
international road traffic through Alpine regions because of
environmental concerns, subsidies for Alpine farming, and foreign
ownership of residences in some parts of Austria. A less certain
matter was whether the Austrian government could convince a
majority of Austrians to support EU membership. The question of
joining the EU will be voted on in a popular referendum because
any governmental action that changes the constitution must pass
this test. Many opinion polls taken in the early 1990s showed
Austrians evenly divided over the merits of joining the EU. In
order to ensure approval by the electorate, the Austrian
government will have to gain significant concessions from the EU
in the negotiations and mount an effective public relations
campaign in favor of a yes vote.
Data as of December 1993
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