“Neutrality alone will not protect us.” Minister of Foreign Affairs of Austria about the future of the country in NATO. “The world has changed”
Beate Meinl-Reisinger: For me, it is freedom from state coercion and life on my own terms. However, with one reservation: freedom also requires a set of rules that guarantee that each unit can enjoy maximum freedom.
You must hurt that liberals exercise power only in three EU rule.
It touches the heart of the matter. Now there is a time when you should highly value and require civic involvement. We cannot allow the lethargy, closing in the private sphere and escape into digital media – which reward primarily those who shout the loudest and are the most radical – spread in liberal democracies.
Is it sensible to build a wall separating the right from the left?
It depends on how far this wall reaches. I would support bills of laws by partly far -right FPOE in Austria, if I considered their content to be right. However, I would never enter a coalition with this party or would not like to see it in the government.
“Putin knows that time is running away”
Let's talk about foreign policy. Will there be a truce soon in the war in Ukraine?
One thing is clear: Ukraine wants peace, Russia does not. If Putin was really interested in peace, he would start talking about the suspension of weapons now. US President Donald Trump gave Putin Crimea and several eastern circuits on a silver tray, and also excluded Ukraine membership in NATO. What does Putin do? He still wages war on the destruction.
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Russia has an advantage on the front.
The advantage? I'm not so sure. Russia suffers huge losses.
It seems that Putin does not bother.
Finally, the coffins will start to pile up in Russia. Added to this is the catastrophic economic situation. Kremlin is getting harder to continue this war. Putin knows time is running away. That is why he wages war with such brutal intensity.
You recently spent a few days in the Middle East. Why?
It is not enough to sit in Vienna or Brussels and to give orders to the parties to the conflict. Austria is on the side of Israel. We understand Israel's fight with existential threats from outside. But as Israel's friends, we must also now tell the government in Jerusalem: we can no longer accept the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. International humanitarian law must be fully observed in the Gaza Strip.
Austria and over twenty other countries demand the end of the war in the Gaza Strip.
However, the release of other Israeli hostages and the liquidation of Hamas terrorist organization would also be crucial. For various reasons, a window to room in the region has now opened. Israel should use this.
“Neutrality will not protect us”
The director of the Diplomatic Academy Emil Brix suggested that Austria should consider joining NATO. Do you support this proposal?
One thing is certain: the neutrality itself will not protect us. In the face of an increasingly uncertain situation of security in the world and an increasingly aggressive attitude of Russia, Austria protects investments in our defensive ability, but also in partnerships. Basically, I am very open to a public debate on the future of Austria in the field of security and defense policy. Although there is currently no majority in the parliament and among the society supporting joining NATO, such a debate can still be very fruitful.
It would also be a debate on the subject of Austrians particularly protected by Austrians.
It is not that I want to join NATO with fanfare. However, we cannot sit with our hands and say that if we do nothing bad to anyone, nobody will do anything wrong to us either. It would be naive. The world has changed.
However, I want to clearly say: we already have a partner in the EU, who will provide us with protection if necessary. At the same time, we make a significant contribution to European security. Our soldiers participate in numerous peace missions of the Union and we do everything to support the common European security policy and financial defense, militarily and politically. In this sense, Austria's neutrality has already changed significantly since the EU joined in 1995.
