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| Source: http://www.google.com/logos/2010/austria10-hp.gif |
Formally, the declaration was promulgated voluntarily by the Republic of Austria. Politically, it was the direct consequence of the allied occupation by the Soviet Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and France between 1945 and 1955, from which the country was freed by the Austrian State Treaty of 15 May the same year. The Soviet Union would not have agreed to the State Treaty if Austria had not committed itself to declare its neutrality after the allied forces had left the country.
Since 1955, neutrality has become a deeply ingrained element of Austrian identity. Austria's national holiday on 26 October commemorates the declaration. Legally, Austrian neutrality is both part of the Austrian constitution and of international law. There is an ongoing debate among legal scholars whether Austria could change this neutral status on its own account. This is a moot point, however, since there is no political or popular support for doing so.
However the opinion of Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen is that his country is no longer neutral due to EU membership and its Common Foreign and Security Policy. It is unknown to what extent other EU states such as Austria agree with this analysis
