Austrian far rightists want to stop payments to EU fund that helps Ukraine
In its election programme, the Austrian ultra-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) declares its intention to stop payments to the European Peace Fund, which the EU uses to help Ukraine with weapons. At the same time, this party is predicted to take first place in the parliamentary elections in September 2024.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by "European Pravda" with reference to the text of the FPÖ manifesto.
The programme states that today Austria is allegedly violating its neutrality by making contributions to the European Peace Fund, which is focused on supporting the Ukrainian military.
"We stand for an active policy of peace and neutrality - payments to the EU Peace Fund should be stopped. Austria should use its money for its own army," the FPÖ manifesto says.
In addition, it says that Vienna's "anti-neutrality" towards the war in Ukraine harms Austria more than Russia, and that the prolonged war creates an additional burden and fuels energy prices.
A separate item in the programme mentions the need to continue consuming Russian gas. While the FPÖ notes that Austria should reduce its dependence on other countries for energy and promote the use of renewable energy sources, the ultra-right says that renewable energy sources cannot cover all of Austria's demand.
"Russian gas will continue to make an important contribution to our security of supply. Irresponsible sanctions, which are a counterproductive interference in the market, have led to a multiple increase in gas prices. This puts not only private households, but also industry, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, in front of problems that sometimes cannot be solved," the manifesto says.
As a reminder, the Austrian authorities see a "huge risk" due to the possibility of a sudden cessation of Russian natural gas supplies, which is still transiting this Central European country through Ukraine.
