At the end of the Cold War, Austria ceased to occupy a peripheral position on the borderline East and West and assumed a location closer to the hub of a larger Europe. While the East-West conflict had been the keynote of European political life up to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the collapse of Communism, new forms of partnership are emerging in present-day Europe.
It was against this background that Austria took a number of momentous steps in 1995. On January 1 of that year it joined the European Union (EU) and acquired observer status at the Western European Union (WEU). In the latter half of 1998 it held the Presidency of the EU Council for the first time . In February 1995 Austria accepted the invitation to participate in NATO´s Partnership for Peace. These steps were extensions of Austria´s long-standing active membership of the United Nations, the Council of Europe and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). During the year 2000 Austria held the Presidency of this organisation.
The Austrian capital Vienna is one of the permanent seats of the United Nations and hosts the IAEA, the UNIDO and several UN departments. Vienna is also the home of the Secretariat and the Permanent Council of the OSCE. In the past Vienna has frequently been chosen as the venue of key superpower summit meetings and of other important international negotiations. For many years now Austria has made an active contribution to the United Nations´ peace-keeping missions.
Austria has acquired new and extensive scope for strengthening its position in the world. This is true of the areas of stability, prevention and crisis management, but it also includes international endeavours on behalf of environmental conservation, a field to which Austria attaches supreme importance. In this connection, the nuclear installations erected by Austria´s neighbours are of particularly topical interest. Austria supports the creation of a European security system which would further enhance the security of Europe.
Even in the new conditions which now prevail, Austria can continue to foster its tradition of contributing in a spirit of solidarity to the upholding of peace and security.
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