On 25 July 1972, three days after the signing, in Brussels, of the tariff agreements between Austria and the Member States of the European Communities, the Austrian Chancellor, Bruno Kreisky, outlines to the National Council the long road travelled by the country on the way towards European integration.

In 1973, as local elections are held in Austria, the Austrian European Federalist Party (EFP) publishes a poster illustrating its commitment to the establishment of a United States of Europe.

In March 1988, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit considers the advantages and disadvantages of Austria’s possible accession to the European Communities.

On 28 January 1987, in a government statement to the Austrian Parliament, the Austrian Chancellor, Franz Vranitzky, emphasises the importance which the coalition Government, composed of the Socialist Party of Austria (SPÖ) and the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP), attaches to the policy of European integration.

On 21 November 1988, the Austrian Foreign Ministry publishes a study which deems that Austria’s accession to the European Communities is compatible with the country’s permanent neutral status.

On 14 December 1992, Alois Mock, Austrian Foreign Minister, delivers an address to the National Council in which he welcomes the conclusions of the Edinburgh European Council which signal a decisive step in the process of Austria’s accession to the European Communities.

In November 1991, the Austrian Foreign Ministry sends an aide-mémoire to the Twelve in which it welcomes the favourable opinion from the European Commission regarding Austria’s application for accession to the European Communities.

In order to ensure that citizens are kept well informed about the implications of Austria’s accession to the European Union (EU), the Austrian Government sets up a free-phone number. On 14 December 1992, Alois Mock, Austrian Foreign Minister, replies personally to the questions submitted.

In his political memoirs, Franz Fischler, former Austrian Minister for Agriculture and Forestry and, in this capacity, member of the Austrian Delegation to the negotiations for Austria’s accession to the European Union, refers to the prevailing atmosphere during the negotiations in Brussels and summarises the results that were achieved.

On 17 November 1994, Alois Mock, Austrian Foreign Minister, describes the implications of Austria’s accession to the European Union and hopes for the rapid parliamentary approval of the Accession Treaty.