At the junction between the east and west of Europe, Austria naturally has supported the accession of the countries of central and eastern European to the European Union. This State with a prestigious past, was the heart of the Habsburg Empire, then the Austro-Hungarian Empire, whose territory was divided after the First World War; it was annexed by Hitler’s Germany and then occupied by the Alliance; now it is peaceful, pacifist and strongly opposed to nuclear energy. Having joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also stands as the defender of institutional balance and supports the small Member States, however it has not withstood the rise of populism.