The Austrian government is considering participating in a potential “Coalition of the Willing” to monitor or secure peace in Ukraine, despite the country’s neutrality. Verteidigungsministerin Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) told the “Welt” that the Austrian Armed Forces have shown in six decades that they are willing and capable of participating in robust international missions. “In the case of a peace mission in Ukraine, it would depend on how the mandate is exactly formulated, what opportunities for our involvement could arise and whether our expertise is actually needed. But I cannot rule out the possibility that we would participate in peacekeeping in Ukraine if it were to happen” she said. Tanner further explained that so far, Austria has not been involved in the talks led by Paris and London on a “Coalition of the Willing.”
Background: Currently, around 30 Western countries are participating in the coalition, but no concrete results have been achieved yet. It remains unclear to what extent the United States supports the plans.
At the same time, the black-red government in Austria rejected accusations that it is not sufficiently engaged in ensuring security in Europe as a neutral country. “Trittbrettfahrer? That hurts my soul.” This is unfair to the soldiers, Tanner said in the “Welt.” Austria has around 1,200 soldiers in international missions, which is quite a lot compared to Germany and Vienna is also financially and humanitarily supporting Ukraine. Tanner continued: “And of course, we would also be willing to contribute to assisting an attacked EU partner under Article 42,7. If it comes to that, we will consider how we can contribute. This can, for example, also happen within the framework of medical and humanitarian support.”
She also called for introducing conscription in as many European countries as possible: “Conscription has benefited our country. The more countries have it, the better for the defense of Europe.”
Conscription is important for several reasons, Tanner explained. “Firstly: We know that we have around 16,000 new recruits every year, which allows us to plan reliably and improve our defense readiness. Secondly: We can discuss the necessity of comprehensive national defense and the training of a military spirit during basic military service with young people and thus also bring them into society. This makes our society more sensitive to threats and more resilient.” Additionally, conscription fosters social cohesion when people from different educational and social backgrounds meet and learn to understand each other better during military service.