ABSTRACT
This chapter shows the main steps and challenges of Austria’s role in developing Common Foreign and Security Policy and European Security and Defense Policy processes by analyzing the paths of Austrian politics towards a comprehensive European security system. The concept of permanent neutrality in Europe has been eroded not only due to the end of the Cold War. The role of the Western European Union has not developed further since the majority of its powers have been transferred to other international institutions, notably North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union. The Franco-British meeting in Saint Malo, and subsequently the Cologne European Council summit, gave the political impetus to and set out the guidelines required for the strengthening of the European Security and Defense Policy. The military component was introduced by the Helsinki and Nice European Councils. The civilian component aimed to improve actions in a field where the international community has shown itself to be lacking.
