Neutrality when it really counts
What if we are attacked?
22.10.25 / Vienna
On 22 October, the Austria Institute for European and Security Policy (AIES) hosted a panel discussion on the topic of ‘Neutrality when it really counts – what if we are attacked?’ Dr Franz Cede (former ambassador and AIES Senior Advisor) and Assoc. Prof. Dr Ralph Janik (Sigmund Freud Private University) took part in the discussion. The event was moderated by Christoph Schwarz (AIES Senior Advisor).
Seventy years after the introduction of neutrality, the question arises as to what extent this status is a suitable instrument for Austria to meet the security policy challenges of our time. At the same time, Austria has been a member of the European Union for 30 years, which, due to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, is facing its greatest security policy test to date.
During the event, various specific scenarios were examined, with the focus on what Austria, despite its neutrality, is allowed, able and perhaps even obliged to do in order to fulfil its responsibility for security and cohesion in Europe. Scenarios included Austria's participation in the joint defence initiative ‘European Sky Shield Initiative’ and military and humanitarian support for Ukraine. More critical scenarios were also discussed, such as a direct attack on Austrian territory or the consequences of an EU alliance case under Article 42(7) in the event of a military attack on an EU member state.
In conclusion, the experts concluded that neutrality must not mean inactivity and impartiality, especially with regard to the defence of liberal, democratic values and European sovereignty. Passivity and restraint would send the wrong signal in terms of shared responsibility for the continuation of the European integration project and would be inappropriate in view of current geopolitical realities.
Austria must act cautiously in this area of tension: it cannot be solely a beneficiary of a common European security architecture without also contributing to it as a partner. In addition, the experts emphasise the importance of active social discourse on neutrality, whose legal framework and foreign policy significance have changed fundamentally in recent decades. This topic must not and should not be a domestic political taboo.
