As Austria's "embassy to the EU", its main task is to ensure that the country's interests and policies are heard and pursued as much as possible in the EU.

After five years of successful negotiations and backed by a national referendum, Austria joined the EU on January 1st 1995 together with Sweden and Finland.

... Austria was to join the Treaty as an EU Member State. Following the submission of Austria's application for membership on 7 July 1989, the EC Council agreed ...

As it had to face the constraints of a closed border to its East, Austria headed for trade with the free market economies by joining the EFTA and managed to ...

The negotiations for accession to the European Union began on 1 February 1993. The applicant countries were required to accept the acquis communautaire.

In a historic referendum in June 1994, Austrian voters indicated their desire to join the EU, and in January 1995 Austria became a member.

Benefits for countries joining the EU · political stability · freedom for citizens to live, study or work anywhere in the EU · increased trade via access to the ...

The European Union was founded with the aim to promote peace, security and prosperity throughout Europe and is based on a commitment to common values such as ...

Right from the start of Austria's EU membership, the country indicated that it wanted to position itself in the EU core. In contrast to Finland and Sweden, ...