Austria is prepared to hold discussions on joining Nato and reassessing its long-standing neutral status in response to heightened security concerns stemming from Russia’s actions, Austrian Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger said on July 26.

Speaking in an interview, Meinl-Reisinger stated that Austria's neutrality, which has been a cornerstone of its foreign policy since 1955 and is embedded in the constitution, could be re-evaluated in light of shifting geopolitical realities.

“The Austrian authorities are open to discussing Nato membership and abandoning the country's neutral status, enshrined in the constitution, due to Russia's aggressive policies,” she said.

Austria is not a member of any military alliance and has maintained a policy of neutrality since the end of the Second World War. The country’s Neutrality Act, passed in 1955, prohibits it from joining military alliances or allowing foreign military bases on its territory. However, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and ongoing military aggression in Europe have triggered fresh debate over Vienna’s strategic posture.

Public opinion in Austria has traditionally favoured neutrality, but recent polling has indicated growing unease over national defence capabilities in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia. Meinl-Reisinger’s comments mark the most explicit signal to date from a senior government official that neutrality may no longer be viable.

Former Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has previously said that any country seeking membership would be welcomed, provided it met the alliance's criteria. While Austria has cooperated with Nato through the Partnership for Peace programme, it has never applied for full membership.

Any shift away from neutrality would require not only a political consensus but also constitutional amendments, which could face significant domestic hurdles. Meinl-Reisinger’s statement is likely to intensify political debate in Austria, where parties remain divided over defence policy and the role of neutrality.

“The Austrian authorities are open to discussing Nato membership and abandoning the country's neutral status, enshrined in the constitution, due to Russia's aggressive policies,” Meinl-Reisinger reiterated, signalling what could be a pivotal moment in the Alpine nation’s post-war history.

Nato underwent a significant expansion during the 1990s, following the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The alliance, originally formed in 1949 to counter Soviet influence in Europe, began to integrate former Warsaw Pact countries into its fold, marking a strategic shift eastward. In 1999, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic became the first former Eastern Bloc nations to join Nato, despite strong objections from Moscow. The move was seen as a way to stabilise Central Europe and anchor it within Western security structures.

The enlargement continued in 2004, when seven more countries – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia – were admitted. This round of accession brought Nato's borders directly to Russia’s doorstep, particularly with the inclusion of the Baltic states. The Kremlin denounced the expansion as a threat to its national security, a position it has maintained consistently in subsequent years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has long blamed the relentless expansion of Nato eastwards and his justification for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In the aftermath of the start of the war in Ukraine, Nato experienced another historic shift with the accession of Finland and Sweden due to Russian aggression. Finland officially joined the alliance in April 2023, ending decades of military non-alignment. Sweden followed in March 2024 after overcoming Turkey’s objections, which used the application as leverage to wring its own concessions out of the EU. The additions significantly strengthened Nato's presence in northern Europe and altered the security dynamics in the Baltic Sea region by massively lengthening the border between Nato countries and Russia.