Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is composed of nine federal states. It is a landlocked East Alpine country in the southern part of Central Europe. Vienna is Austria’s capital and largest city.
Austria joined the EU on the 1st of January 1995. The decision resulted from a successful five-year-long negotiation and support received by a national referendum held for the same.
Since its accession, the country has actively participated in all the EU institutions (European Parliament, European Commission, and Council of the European Union) and constructively shaped the EU’s development.
Austria has held the presidency of the Council of the European Union twice, one in 1998 and the other in 2006. By 2002, Austria retired the schilling, its former currency, and replaced it with the euro. Once again, in 2018, Austria held the presidency of the Council of Ministers for six months as part of the trio presidency of Estonia-Bulgaria-Austria.
The European Parliament alone has 19 members from Austria. In the Council of the EU, national ministers meet regularly to adopt EU laws and coordinate policies. Council meetings are regularly attended by representatives from the Austrian government, depending on the policy area being addressed. Austria also has 12 representatives on the European Economic and Social Committee.
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