State defense crisis: Reifenberger demands quick action from Tanner!

State defense crisis: Reifenberger demands quick action from Tanner!

Österreich - The current State defense report causes discussions in the political landscape Austria. NABG. Mag. Volker Reifenberger, military spokesman for the freedom, has a positive emphasis on developments in the report, but he criticizes the security minister of defense Tanner. In recent years, the minister has not seriously tackled the concrete challenges, which in Reifenberger's opinion.

Reifenberger warns that the current mobile movement framework of 55,000 soldiers is not sufficient to ensure the country's defense ability in the long term. This framework is contrasting with previous figures, which included over 300,000 soldiers in the 1980s. The military spokesman urgently calls for an improvement in training quality and suggests extending basic military service and introducing mandatory militia exercises.

defense strategies and challenges

The state defense report for 2024 and 2025 also describes the tense military conditions in Austria. While some reform and construction measures show success, the affinity of the federal army remains limited. According to parlament.gv.at , the lack of personnel is a central challenge, which becomes clear through already exhausted measures of the defense department. In particular, an adaptation of the salary is required, which, however, is not at the direct discretion of the Federal Ministry of State Defense (BMLV).

A primary goal is to increase the defense budget to 2 % of GDP until 2032, a project that is also recorded in the amendment to the LV-Fing in the government program. The current budgets for the "ÖBH2032+" development plan are available to strengthen military skills while the security policy pressure has been perceived as increased since the Ukraine conflict.

measures to improve military attractiveness

In order to make the Federal Army as an employer more attractive, measures are tried out, but they only show little success. Reifenberger emphasizes that the payment of young officers who, despite academic degrees, are often rewarded like graduates, is unacceptable. A fundamental revision of the legal framework and the salary structure is essential to significantly increase the attractiveness of the Federal Army.

Another point of criticism concerns the insufficient implementation of legal possibilities for the obligation to oblige suitable basic militia in squad functions of the militia. These and other suggestions must be implemented as quickly as possible in order to sustainably improve Austria's military performance. Reifenberger asks the minister to take responsibility and actively act.

In addition, the report was emphasized in the report, the need for a "on -call troop/domestic" and "on -call troops/abroad" in order to be able to react more flexibly to current threats. The creation of rapidly available reactors to hybrid threats is essential to better counter the military-political risks, such as the confrontation of Russia with the EU and NATO.

Further information about the military budget planning and the framework conditions can be called up on the website of the Bundesheers