On 30 April 1996, at an international conference held in Paris by the Institut des relations internationales et stratégiques (Institute for International and Strategic Relations — IRIS) and the Centre de réflexion et d’études sur les problèmes internationaux (Centre for Research into International Problems — CRESPI), Wolfgang Plasche, Head of Division and Director for External Relations at the Austrian Ministry of Defence, outlines the way in which Austria intends to contribute to the internal and external military security of the European Union.