"Austria’s Freedom Party (FPO) accused the government and the European Union of sending 'taxpayer money' to Ukraine without sufficient transparency, warning that such policies risk undermining the country’s constitutional neutrality during a press conference in Vienna on Tuesday. "To this day, the Foreign Minister has still owed me an answer, a truly comprehensible answer, on how exactly these monetary gifts, which the Austrian taxpayer has to pay, are being transferred to Ukraine," FPO Secretary General Christian Hafenecke said. "The persistent rumour remains that Austrian government members travel to Ukraine with suitcases of money and then the taxpayer's money is there handed over in cash, for whatever reason that may be," he continued. Hafenecke argued the government's 'evasive answers', despite several inquiries into the matter, suggest the rumour 'actually has substance'. "They are not able to present or prove something like a transfer receipt or a clear path of Austrian money into Ukraine. So all this suggests that Austria is a part of this corrupt system, or Austrian taxpayer money has become part of this corrupt system in Ukraine. And that ultimately our hard-earned taxpayer money is disappearing into certain channels where we cannot trace and control it,” he said. Fellow FPO lawmaker Susanne Fürst added to the criticism, arguing that EU policy has prolonged the conflict and imposed unfair economic burdens on European citizens. “Instead of investing all efforts in peace initiatives, the European Union has focused on increasingly heavy and comprehensive arms deliveries,” she said. “There is not a single diplomatic initiative from the European Union.” Furst also warned that Austrian taxpayers are indirectly financing weapons through EU-level decisions, while calling the recent €90 billion EU loan package 'completely incalculable risk for Austrian taxpayers.' “Austrian taxpayers now also have to pay for weapons deliveries that are sent from Brussels to Kiev,” Furst said. "They did not use our perpetual neutrality as a starting point for a potential mediator role for Austria. For the creation of peace, any possibilities explored, but on the contrary, they have hollowed them out and betrayed them," she added. "We have joined the utterly misguided EU strategy, if it can even be called that." The Austrian government has dismissed similar claims made by the FPO as 'populist disinformation' and insists that all financial aid to Ukraine is processed through transparent, traceable channels. Vienna has backed European Union sanctions against Russia, while ruling out any military involvement. Instead, it has supplied Ukraine with non-lethal equipment and humanitarian aid, citing its long-standing policy of 'active neutrality.' As of February 2026, Austria's total support for Ukraine since the start of the conflict was estimated at €2.9 billion. Austria's policy of permanent neutrality, established in 1955, remains a key part of its national identity and constitutional law, though it currently faces significant internal and external pressures. Austria, despite its neutral status, is increasing defence spending to reach 2 per cent of GDP by 2032. In February 2026, the EU Council allowed fiscal flexibility to support this military modernisation while maintaining debt sustainability. The strategy emphasises self-defence and participation in non-combat international initiatives, like the European Sky Shield Initiative for missile defence, which the government deems compatible with its neutrality."