Can countries remain neutral in today’s Europe?

If Finland joins NATO, only a handful of European countries will be militarily non-aligned.

Neutrality is under pressure according to proponents, while opponents say it is a luxury that European states cannot afford.

The war in Ukraine has drawn more attention to countries such as Switzerland, Ireland and Austria, which remain militarily non-aligned.

Those countries have imposed sanctions on Russia, but they do not get involved in the conflict – they do not send weapons or personnel to the battlefield.

Sweden and Finland – once bastions of neutrality – have applied to join NATO, and Finland will join the bloc in the coming days.

Does neutrality still matter? Or is it an outdated concept in today’s world?

Presenter: Cyril Vanier

Guests:

Jori Arvonen – President of the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and former Finnish Secretary of State for European Union Affairs

Jean-Marc Rickli – Head of Global and Emerging Risks at the Geneva Center for Security Policy and a specialist on military policy of European neutral and non-aligned states

Richard Boyd Barrett – Member of the Irish Parliament representing the People Before Profit party and leader of the Irish anti-war movement