Uniting Austria And Hungary: A Future Together?

The idea of Austria and Hungary uniting is not new. The two countries were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1918, and they share a 366-kilometre border that can be crossed anywhere without control due to the Schengen Agreement. In the past, there have been attempts to unite the two countries, such as through the creation of a new bloc within the European Union or by joining existing alliances. However, it is unclear if there are any current plans or movements to formally unite Austria and Hungary.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire

The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, also known as the Ausgleich, established a dual monarchy with a real union between the northern and western parts of the former Austrian Empire (Cisleithania) and the Kingdom of Hungary (Transleithania). This compromise granted Hungary full internal autonomy and a responsible ministry, while the empire remained a single great state for war and foreign affairs. A third component of the union was the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, an autonomous region under the Hungarian crown.

During World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire played a passive diplomatic role and was increasingly dominated by Germany. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 intensified ethnic hostilities within the empire, and it faced breakaway demands from minority groups. The empire suffered military setbacks and supply shortages, and its multiple ethnic groups demanded greater autonomy. By 1918, the empire collapsed, and nationalist movements seized power in various regions, leading to the formation of independent states such as Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

The Hungarian Revolution of 1956

The Uprising

The Hungarian Revolution began on October 23, 1956, in Budapest when university students appealed to the civil populace to join them at the Hungarian Parliament Building to protest against the USSR's geopolitical domination of Hungary through the Stalinist government of Mátyás Rákosi. A delegation of students entered the building of Magyar Rádió to broadcast their sixteen demands for political and economic reforms to civil society. However, they were detained by security guards. When the student protestors outside the radio building demanded the release of their delegation, a group of police from the ÁVH (State Protection Authority) fatally shot several of the students.

Consequently, Hungarians organized into revolutionary militias to fight against the ÁVH; local Hungarian communist leaders and ÁVH policemen were captured and summarily executed; and political prisoners were released and armed. Local soviets (councils of workers) assumed control of municipal government from the Hungarian Working People's Party. The new government of Imre Nagy disbanded the ÁVH, declared Hungary's withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, and pledged to re-establish free elections. By the end of October, the intense fighting had subsided.

Soviet Intervention

Although initially willing to negotiate the withdrawal of the Soviet Army from Hungary, the USSR repressed the Hungarian Revolution on November 4, 1956, and fought the Hungarian revolutionaries until Soviet victory on November 10. The repression of the Hungarian Uprising killed 2,500 Hungarians and 700 Soviet Army soldiers and compelled 200,000 Hungarians to seek political refuge abroad, mostly in Austria.

The Habsburg Empire

The empire was ruled by the House of Habsburg, also known as the House of Austria, one of the most prominent and important dynasties in European history. The name "Habsburg" is derived from the castle of Habsburg, or "Hawk's Castle," built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland by Radbot of Klettgau. The family custom was to vest the government of its hereditary domains not in individuals but in all male members of the family in common.

Over time, the Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges. They often profited from the extinction of other noble families, such as the House of Kyburg. The dynasty produced kings of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Lombardy-Venetia, and Galicia-Lodomeria, as well as rulers of several principalities in the Low Countries and Italy, and numerous Prince-Bishoprics in the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1867, the Austro-Hungarian Compromise created a real union between the Kingdom of Hungary and the Empire of Austria, granting them co-equality and equal status as independent entities. This arrangement prevailed until the deposition of the Habsburgs from both Austria and Hungary in 1918 following their defeat in World War I. The end of World War I marked the collapse of the Habsburg Empire, with the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria and the First Hungarian Republic.

The Visegrad alliance

The name of the alliance references the place of meeting selected for the 1335 Congress of Visegrad held by the Bohemian (Czech), Polish, and Hungarian rulers. The alliance aims to advance cooperation in military, economic, cultural, and energy affairs and to further their integration with the EU. All four states are members of the EU, NATO, and the Bucharest Nine (B9).

The Visegrad Group is an important alliance for the four countries as it carries more weight within the EU than they would as individual countries. Each year, a different member of the group takes over the V4 presidency. The group focuses on cultural cooperation through the Visegrad Fund and expert-level cooperation on topics such as infrastructure.

However, the group has also been a source of political splits, particularly during the European immigration crisis in 2015, where the Visegrad Four frequently blocked EU-level responses. Additionally, the EU Commission started infringement procedures against the Hungarian and Polish national-conservative governments, seen as undermining democracy, media freedom, and the independence of the judiciary.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022 caused another rift within the group, with Hungary and Slovakia rejecting support for Ukraine and echoing Russian claims that NATO provoked the war. On the other hand, the Czech Republic and Poland are among the strongest supporters of Ukraine. Despite these differences, the Visegrad Group remains an important alliance for the four countries, and its role in fostering exchange among countries' public servants and civil societies is crucial.

The Schengen Agreement

In 1990, the Schengen Agreement was supplemented by the Schengen Convention, which proposed the complete abolition of systematic internal border controls and the implementation of a common visa policy. The Schengen Area now operates as a single state for international travel purposes, with external border controls for travellers entering and exiting, common visas, and no internal border controls. It currently consists of 29 European countries, covering a population of over 400 million people and an area of 4,312,099 square kilometres.

The Schengen treaties and rules initially operated independently from the European Union. However, in 1999, they were incorporated into European Union law by the Amsterdam Treaty. All EU member states without an opt-out, which have not already joined the Schengen Area, are legally obliged to do so when technical requirements are met. Several non-EU countries, such as Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein, are included in the area through special association agreements.

The Schengen Area guarantees free movement for over 425 million EU citizens, as well as non-EU nationals living in or visiting the EU for various purposes. It enables citizens to travel within the area without being subject to border checks. The area relies on a common set of rules, including those related to crossing external borders, harmonisation of entry conditions and short-stay visa rules, cross-border police and judicial cooperation, and the Schengen Information System.

To join the Schengen Area, countries must fulfil several pre-conditions, including applying the common set of Schengen rules, taking responsibility for controlling external borders and issuing uniform visas, efficiently cooperating with law enforcement agencies in other Schengen countries, and connecting to and using the Schengen Information System. Once a country has successfully undergone the Schengen Evaluation process, confirming its readiness to join, unanimous approval from all other Member States applying the Schengen acquis in full is required.

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