Austria wants to join the European Sky Shield air defense initiative

July 2 () –

The Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Karl Nehammer, announced this Saturday the decision for Austria to become part of the ‘Sky Shield’ program, aimed at air defense.

“The threat situation has increased enormously due to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Austria will therefore join the European Sky Shield air defense initiative,” he announced via his official Twitter account.

Nehammer has been favorable to the inclusion of Austria in this initiative, considering that “Sky Shield offers the necessary protection” of its airspace “to avoid danger early and effectively.”

However, the date on which this announcement will be finalized is still unknown, since “how Austria can participate” in this initiative is currently being discussed.

What is clear, and the foreign minister has assured it, is that the country’s neutrality “will not be affected.”

For her part, the Defense Minister, Klaudia Tanner, pointed out that “this is a milestone in the history of Austrian defense policy” and reiterated that “negotiations are underway to examine this cooperation and clarify what form Austria’s participation in this project can take in concrete terms,” ​​ORF.at reported.

Both Nehammer and Tanner have agreed that being part of this project means “participating in a protective shield that serves to avoid danger.”

Likewise, both ministers have emphasized the importance of cooperation, since they understand that “the joint implementation of this project is only possible and sensible from the organizational and financial point of view in a European network”.

“No European state (individually) can afford the ability to effectively defend airspace only in view of the new threat situation,” they have ruled.

The European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI) was promoted by Germany as a reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with the aim of helping to close existing gaps in Europe’s current protective shield.

Other NATO members such as Belgium, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic and Romania have participated in it since last October. Denmark and Sweden also joined the project in February.