Neutral and Non-Aligned European States

Neutral and Non-Aligned European States
Neutral and Non-Aligned European States
	Neutral and Non-Aligned European States
Membership	Austria; Finland; Sweden; Switzerland; Yugoslavia; Cyprus; Malta;
Area
• Total	1,176,407 km2 (454,213 sq mi)
Population
• 1971 estimate	~ 47,800,000

Neutral and Non-Aligned European States, sometimes known by abbreviation NN states,^[1]^[2] was a Cold War era informal grouping of states in Europe which were neither part of NATO nor Warsaw Pact but were either neutral or members of the Non-Aligned Movement. The group brought together neutral countries of Austria, Finland, Sweden and Switzerland on one, and non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia, Cyprus and Malta on the other hand, all of which together shared interest in preservation of their independent non-bloc position with regard to NATO, European Community, Warsaw Pact and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.^[3] Established and comparatively highly developed European neutral countries perceived cooperation with non-aligned countries (particularly with SFR Yugoslavia as one of the leaders of the group) as a way to advocate for peace, disarmament and superpowers' restraint more forcefully than their limited earlier cooperation would permit.^[4]

The group cooperated within the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in trying to preserve the results of the Helsinki Accords.^[5] In this framework, Yugoslavia cooperated with Austria and Finland on mediation between blocs, organized a second CSCE summit in 1977 in Belgrade and proposed drafts on national minorities protection which are still valid and integral parts of OSCE provisions on minority rights.^[6]