Austria to Increase Defense Budget by 25% in 2023
According to a recent announcement by the Austrian government, their military will be receiving 25% more funding in 2023 than it did in 2022 – from €2.7 billion to €3.38 billion euro ($2.62 billion to $3.28 billion USD). The government plans to further raise the budget every year until 2027 when the military budget is set to reach 1.5% of GDP. Currently, Austrian military spending amounts for only about 0.7% of GDP.
Austria has long maintained a policy of neutrality. This can be traced back to 1955 when the US and USSR ended the occupation of the state with the agreement that the country will be neutral in the Cold War. After the collapse of the USSR and with Austrian integration into the European Union, the country allowed its military to decline – according to World Bank data, Austria had spent about 1.5% of its GDP on defense back in 1986.
The sudden reversal of Austrian defense policy comes in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, putting Austria on the long list of countries in Europe and around the world which are scrambling to improve their short and long term defense capabilities. The Austrian government had initially promised massive defense spending boosts in March of this year.
In a series of tweets published on 6 October, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer commented on recent defense legislation:
“A historic step for security in our country: With the State Defense Financing Act, we are now taking the necessary steps to equip our armed forces in the best possible way for new threats. The budget for the army will be increased by 5.3 billion euros by 2026. Investing in security is an investment in our country’s future. The aim is to create a sustainable strengthening of the armed forces by improving the mobility of our forces, modern equipment and investments in military infrastructure. This is the largest increase in the defense budget in the history of the Austrian Armed Forces. Especially in particularly challenging times like these, strengthening our security & our army is the order of the day.”
In recent statements, the chancellor also stressed the need to review key areas such as supply chains and infrastructure resilience. Local Austrian media quoted the Chancellor:
“Today, more than ever, it is becoming apparent that military national defense is the need of the hour. […] Dependencies and supply chain failures are threat scenarios that have become visible alongside the military threat in recent months.
Additionally, according to reports from Janes, the Austrian government has tasked the Ministry of Defense with preparing for a “valuation assessment on a possible acquisition of the fifth-generation ‘stealth fighter’ in the next decade”. In other words, it is likely that part of the future Austrian defense budget may be intended for the F-35.