CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 03/2023

L’AUTRICHE INTERVIEW
Wie steht es um die Auslandseinsätze?
Wir hatten viele Jahre deutlich mehr als
1.100 Soldaten und Soldatinnen in internationalen
Einsätzen, derzeit sind es 800. Damit
erfüllen wir eine politisch-strategische Zielvorgabe.
Die tatsächliche Stärke hängt immer
davon ab, welchen Bedarf wir im Inland
haben und welche Anfragen von Sicherheitsorganisationen
an Österreich kommen.
Wir werden auch in Zukunft einen ansprechenden
Beitrag leisten, auch wenn das zukünftige
Hauptaugenmerk mehr im Inland
als auf Auslandsmissionen liegen wird.
Es gab eine kurze Debatte um Hilfe bei der
Minenräumung in der Ukraine. Wie sehen Sie das?
Das Gros unserer Kapazitäten zur Minenräumung
ist unverändert auf dem Westbalkan
im Einsatz und daher nicht verfügbar.
Aber grundsätzlich betrachtet ist es eine
politische Entscheidung, ob und wie das
ÖBH zum Einsatz kommt, ob Gerät geliefert
oder Ausbildungsleistung erbracht wird.
Das Schlagwort von der „Zeitenwende“ geht noch
immer um. Wie ist sie bei Ihnen angekommen?
Der Krieg in der Ukraine hat zweifelsohne
die Wahrnehmung von Sicherheit und
Militär bei den politischen Parteien und in
der Gesellschaft verändert. Die Zeitenwende
brachte für uns eine Wiederbelebung der
militärischen Landesverteidigung und den
Wiederaufbau des ÖBH. Voraussetzung dafür
war ein Beschluss sämtlicher Parteien im
Nationalen Sicherheitsrat. Denn schon am
ersten Tag nach Angriffsbeginn hatte man
sich darauf geeinigt, die finanzielle Situation
des Bundesheeres zu verbessern.
Was liegt Ihnen am meisten am Herzen, wo
drückt der Schuh?
Das liegt für mich auf der Hand, es ist der
Personalbereich, denn „ohne Personal geht
nichts“! Personalgewinnung ist mittlerweile
in jedem Berufsbereich eine unglaubliche
Herausforderung. Daher schätze ich die Initiative
der Frau Bundesminister sehr, die
Tür zum ÖBH auch für Frauen weiter zu
öffnen.
CD-Autor Walter Feichtinger
traf General Striedinger im Hotel
Almanac Palais Vienna zum Interview.
CD‘s author Walter Feichtinger met General
Striedinger at the Hotel Almanac Palais Vienna.
Was hat sich für Sie persönlich mit der Amtsübernahme
geändert?
Es ist das Gefühl der Verantwortung, das
man in dieser Funktion besonders spürt.
Aber ich habe exzellente Mitarbeiterinnen
und Mitarbeiter, auf die ich mich verlassen
kann, und eine politische Führung, die mir
freie Hand bei der Planung und Unterstützung
bei der Umsetzung gibt. Das ist sehr
beruhigend.
CD: General, you have been the Chief of the General
Staff for a year now. What are your main responsibilities?
Rudolf Striedinger: The Chief of the
General Staff has two significant responsibilities.
Firstly, it involves providing information
and advice to the political leadership, primarily
to the Minister of Defence, on fundamental
military matters. Secondly, it entails the
leadership of the Austrian Armed Forces at
the highest military level. This encompasses
overarching direction and planning, as well
as supervision of operations at all levels.
The Austrian Armed Forces are often referred to as
the “strategic operational reserve” of the state.
What are the responsibilities of the Armed Forces?
Our military has a wide spectrum of
tasks to fulfil. These range from providing
assistance during emergencies and disaster
relief operations to participating in international
missions. Its primary and ongoing
mission is the defence of our country’s borders,
which has regained prominence since
the conflict in Ukraine. To meet this objective,
we have developed a plan known as
“Aufbauplan 2032+” (Development Plan
2032+), serving as a guideline for further
equipment, infrastructure, training, and
structuring of the Austrian Armed Forces.
While we will continue to provide assistance
services in the future, decisions such as
equipment procurement will always prioritise
military effectiveness.
Austria is located securely at the centre of Europe.
What threats does the Ministry of Defence
anticipate?
The threat landscape has changed significantly
even before the attack on Ukraine.
We are facing a constant hybrid threat that
also affects Austria. This encompasses cyber-attacks,
disinformation campaigns, vio-
lent incidents and even scenarios that may
have military aspects. As a result, the Austrian
Armed Forces must be capable of conducting
comprehensive protection operations
for vulnerable areas and critical
infrastructure. Regarding our geographical
location, Austria serves as an essential transportation
hub, with major transit routes
running from north to south and from east
to west. Therefore, we must also be able to
control and protect transportation along
these axes. It is crucial for us to adapt and be
prepared to address both traditional and
emerging threats effectively.
The Development Plan 2032+, which you mentioned
earlier, will require a significant amount of funding.
How is the budget situation?
The Armed Forces have been underfunded
for a long time and have suffered from a
decline in resources over the past 30 years.
Now, we are focused on rebuilding, and fortunately,
this seems possible thanks to political
commitments. I am very optimistic
about the Landesverteidigungs-Finanzierungsgesetz
(National Defence Financing
Law), which was passed by the parliament at
the end of 2022. This law sets a budget trajectory
for the next 10 years, with a continuous
and significant increase until 2027,
followed by maintaining the funding at that
level. This provides us with the ability to implement
long-term planning and procurement
projects in areas such as defence
equipment, infrastructure and daily operations.
It marks an “evolutionary development”,
as we build upon the existing Armed
Forces. However, in certain areas, such as
drones or air defence, this could also be revolutionary,
significantly enhancing our capabilities.
Regarding another point, the conscription system.
Why does Austria adhere to it?
I have always advocated for conscription.
Without conscripts, we would not be able to
fulfil our tasks to the extent required. The
conscription system also provides us with a
secured pool of personnel, serving as a central
element of recruitment. Many individuals,
through their experiences in military
life, come to understand the significance of
being a soldier and decide to extend their
service. This is why our Minister of Defence
has initiated the “voluntary basic military
PHOTOS: RALPH MANFREDA
service” for women as well, simplifying access
to the Armed Forces for the other half
of the population.
Following some hesitation, the government has ordered
a revision of the security strategy from 2013.
How can this impact the Austrian Armed Forces?
We have already made our contribution
with the Development Plan 2032+. With the
revised security strategy, the aim is to establish
the strategic framework in which we
will essentially embed our tasks. I expect a
strong emphasis on the Comprehensive
Land Defence, as it represents the fundamental
prerequisite for the cooperation of
all forces within the country.
As a member of the European Union and a NATO
partner for peace, how important are international
cooperations for the armed forces of a neutral
country?
Our collaboration within the framework
of the EU and NATO is essential for the advancement
of the Austrian Armed Forces.
To participate in international peacekeeping
missions, such as in Kosovo, meeting the required
standards is necessary. These standards
are established within the NATO
framework and adopted by the EU.
During discussions among the Chiefs of
General Staff at the European level, it becomes
evident that cooperation has become
indispensable. Participation in joint exercises
like Sky Shield, alongside neutral Switzerland,
further emphasises this direction. It
involves shared procurement projects and
the development of armed forces across Europe.
What about international missions?
For many years, we had well over 1,100
soldiers participating in international missions,
but currently, there are 800. This number
aligns with our political and strategic
objectives. The actual strength of our deployments
always depends on the demands
we have within Austria and the requests
from security organisations to Austria. In
the future, we will continue to make a substantial
contribution, although our primary
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