Neutral member states in the European Union

Different emphasis can be put on legal, political, ideological, economic and military dimensions as well as how neutrality is executed in practice.

[4] A definition focusing mainly on military aspects is based on the Hague Conventions of 1907 and offers a legal basis for neutrality in the international relations.

Neither should they support or favour warring parties militarily, nor make their territory available to them, supply them with weapons or credits, or restrict private armaments exports in a one-sided way.

[5] Furthermore, an active definition of neutrality bases the concept on a cosmopolitan worldview and identifies non-aggression, peace-promotion and self-determination as the motivating values behind it.

Austria was occupied by the four victorious powers, and with the beginning of the Cold War the negotiations on an Austrian State Treaty did not achieve much progress.

During the 1950s, the Austrian foreign policy became more independent from the victorious powers and since the early 1960s Austria has taken part in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations, Vienna became home for several international organisations and a few important meetings and conferences took place there.

[11] With rising tensions in the East-West conflict[clarification needed] again at the end of the 1970s, the conditions for active neutrality worsened and with a new government in 1983, the Austrian foreign policy was refocused.

The European Commission was concerned about the compatibility of a future Common Foreign and Security Policy with the permanently neutral status of Austria.

Assurances from Austria were needed guaranteeing that it would comply with the future Common Foreign and Security Policy.

Furthermore, more legislative changes were carried out allowing Austria to send troops as part of military operations in the framework of more institutional organisations than only the UN and to participate to full extend in the Petersberg tasks.

[15] Although having a constructive abstention introduced through the Treaty of Amsterdam, Austria was not obliged to stay neutral in conflicts anymore.

[20] When Frank Aiken became foreign minister in 1957, Ireland's participation in multilateral forums, especially in the Council of Europe and the UN, increased.

Ireland developed a high policy profile regarding disarmament, anti-colonial issues and participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations.

[clarification needed] Ireland applied for a first time unsuccessfully for membership of the European Community in 1961 together with the United Kingdom.

[22] At the end of the 1980s and in the early 1990s, Ireland got back to the "defence last" position and followed a more revisionist approach on neutrality and its compatibility with European Political Co-operation.

[23] Although getting an "Irish clause" in the Maastricht Treaty protecting neutrality, Ireland accepted its overall objectives including defence.

[27] In general, when requiring a referendum for treaty changes the Irish government argued for respect for the specific nature of its security and defence policy although its concept of neutrality became more and more loose over time.

The withdrawal from that naval base in 1956 gave Finland its sovereignty back and enabled it to join the UN shortly followed by the initial articulation of a neutral policy.

The consolidated sovereignty and the neutrality were seen as positive results from the Finnish post-war foreign and security policy which had the establishment of mutual trust with the Soviet Union as goal.

[34] The emerging cooperation in the field of foreign policy within the European Community was in 1990 still seen as a threat to Finland’s neutrality and therefore also to its sovereignty and independence.

Cultural connections with Nordic and Western European countries had already been emphasised in the post-war period, but the political and economic integration of Finland only gained momentum after the end of the Cold War.

[36] Finland's decision to apply for membership in the EU in 1992 is often perceived as a sudden and profound change in its post-war foreign policy.

[37] In order to fully comply with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, the Finnish government redefined neutrality as military non-alignment and independent defence.

"[39] However, Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä on 5 December 2017 still described the country as "militarily non-aligned" and that it should remain so.

[43] During the post-war period, economic reasons were favouring Swedish membership in the European Community while the neutrality to which the population became attached was an obstacle.

Without an opportunity to fulfil an intermediary role and regarding the economic disadvantages from being outside of the European Single Market, Swedish politics changed in favour of EU membership while assuring that neutrality could be kept in the long term based on the assumption that the European Community would not develop in the direction of a common defence very soon.