“According to our current information, there is currently only a multilateral declaration of intent as part of a NATO defense ministers’ meeting,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP), according to a spokeswoman when asked by APA. At the same time, she expects a discussion at EU level about the shield. “In Austria we have not received an invitation in this regard,” said Tanner on Friday. “But that doesn’t mean that we won’t discuss the topic at EU level. It can be expected that it will also become an issue here.”
The defense ministers of European NATO countries agreed on Thursday to set up a joint air defense system. The initiative came from Germany. According to this, Great Britain, Slovakia, Norway, Latvia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania and Slovenia are involved. According to diplomats, Estonia also wants to take part.
Austrian military expert Franz-Stefan Gady called for Austria to participate. “Austria should participate in the Sky Shield Initiative,” said Gady from the Institute for International Strategic Studies in London via Twitter. “Especially if we actually spend 2 billion on a new medium-range air defense system of our own in the coming years.”
In view of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the European Sky Shield is intended to help close existing gaps in the current protective shield for Europe. There are deficits there, for example, in the area of ballistic missiles, which reach great heights on their trajectory, but also in the defense against drones and cruise missiles. Among other things, new weapon systems are to be jointly purchased via the initiative.
Source: Nachrichten
