ABSTRACT
In the field of security policy, in addition to the disarmament proposals submitted by the Soviet Union at regular intervals, the Soviet leaders have launched the concept of "reasonable sufficiency." The council for mutual economic assistance will certainly face even greater difficulties because several of its members like the Czecho-Slovak federal republic and Hungary abolished the "socialist" basis of their economy. The relations between the center of the former "socialist" system and its peripheral elements have become more flexible and, consequently, have allowed for a greater diversity in the relations among the smaller countries. Austria's relations with the Soviet Union are certainly as unique as its relations with other "socialist" states. Due to the importance of the Soviet Union in Austria's foreign policy, the new developments in the "socialist" world may make the question of Austria's accession to the European community appear in a new light.
