Austria

Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies in 1945 Austria's status remained unclear for a decade. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation recognized Austria's independence and forbade unification with Germany. A constitutional law that same year declared the country's \"perpetual neutrality\" as a condition for Soviet military withdrawal. The Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and Austria's entry into the EU in 1995 have altered the meaning of this neutrality. A prosperous democratic country Austria entered the EU Economic and Monetary Union in 1999.