Press Releases

Let me begin by thanking my colleague, Minister Petrides, for his invitation and the excellent cooperation between our ministries over the past decades. This intensive relationship between our two countries started with the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus.

Austria has supported this mission from the very beginning. In 1964 with a medical contingent, and six years later with an infantry battalion. Our task was to prevent further fighting and to restore order on the island in cooperation with other states. More than 17,000 Austrian soldiers were deployed in this mission and Austria continues its support, although today with a smaller force.

Our experts constantly monitor the situation in the Mediterranean. What worries us, is that Cyprus and the entire Mediterranean region are exposed to enormous pressure. Austria therefore looks at this situation with great concern.

And I would like to state one thing clearly in this context, also after the excellent discussions with Defence Minister Petrides: as a member of the European Union, we fully support the position of Cyprus. The territorial sovereignty of a state must not be violated under any circumstances. Any action in this regard is a violation of international laws.

Unfortunately, the security situation in Europe has not improved because of new challenges, risks and threats. These have become more complex and more difficult to predict. Peacekeeping missions remain indispensable.

However, not only the tensions within Europe were on our agenda, but also the topic of migration, which is important for both our countries. The critical situation in and around Europe means that, in Austria, we expect an increase in migration. The Austrian Minister of the Interior has already stated that we need more robust and stronger external border protection, and I fully agree with this. We do not want Austria, a small landlocked country, to become a destination for illegal migration. The same applies to Cyprus, a small island in the Mediterranean.

We are therefore strengthening our cooperation. In the EU, we have already taken a number of steps concerning this issue: over the past six months, I have repeatedly exchanged views with EU defence ministers and advanced a fundamental document, the Strategic Compass, which is important for us and the European Union. We intend to adopt this document in the coming March.

This document aims to identify threats and crises at an early stage and to avert hybrid threats. We want to create the appropriate tool for the EU to deal with the complex challenges it faces.

I promised Minister Petrides that in the event of increased tensions in Cyprus Austria will fulfil its commitments laid down in Article 42 section 7, within the framework of our legal possibilities.

Another issue was, of course, the situation on Ukraine's borders. We closely monitor developments on the Russian-Ukrainian border. The current situation in Ukraine poses the risk of full-scale war on the European continent. These are alarming prospects.

What is, however, also certain is that Russia is an important player in Europe’s security architecture. One thing must be completely clear to us: sustainable security can only be achieved with Russia. However, clear lines must be drawn together with the European Union and any Russian activities on Ukrainian territory must be sanctioned. What is also important, however, is that dialogue continues, for example within the framework of the Normandy Format with France, Germany and Ukraine.

This situation shows that the rapid implementation of the Strategic Compass within the framework of the EU is very important. Of course, we also push for the development of a rapid deployment force, meaning an EU Rapid Deployment Capacity. Crises such as those in Russia and Ukraine at the moment show that it is necessary to work at the EU level, and to build on the experience of the EU Battlegroups to form such a force of up to 5,000 personnel. Military exercises to optimise interoperability and operational readiness should begin as early as 2023.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Defence Minister Petrides again for the constructive and informative discussion and the excellent cooperation, and hope that it will continue in the future!

(NG/SCH)