Austria’s EU Narrative: From Economic Pragmatism to Bold Self-Assertiveness

In spite of its long history as a European power, Austria only joined the European Union in 1995. As the main champions of EU membership, the Christian Social and Social Democratic parties advocated accession mainly for economic reasons. In 2000, the government’s pro-EU narrative changed in the wake of the ‘diplomatic measures’ imposed by Austria’s fourteen peers on the coalition of the ÖVP with the radical right FPÖ, and principles of sovereignty and subsidiarity came to dominate. Whilst between 2008 and 2017, SPÖ-ÖVP governments consented to financial measures to save the euro, the narrative was framed by net payer discourses and enhanced by an alliance with the frugal ‘Hanse’, dubbed the ‘new Hanseatic League’. In refugee matters, the ÖVP-FPÖ government of 2017 proclaimed a restrictive policy to ‘close the Balkan route'. The ÖVP-Greens coalition of 2020 retained commitment to the EU, although in largely intergovernmental terms.