The
legitimacy of whether some states are as neutral as they claim has been questioned in some circles, although this depends largely on a state's interpretation of its form of neutrality.
European Union There are three members of the
European Union that still describe themselves as a neutral country in some form:
Austria,
Ireland, and
Malta. With the development of the EU's
Common Security and Defence Policy, the extent to which they are, or should be neutral is debated. For example, Ireland, which sought guarantees for its neutrality in EU treaties, argues that its neutrality does not mean that Ireland should avoid engagement in international affairs such as peacekeeping operations. Since the enactment of the
Lisbon Treaty, EU members are bound by
TEU, Article 42.7, which obliges states to assist a fellow member that is the victim of armed aggression. It accords "an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in [other member states'] power" but would "not prejudice the specific character of the security and defense policy of certain Member States" (neutral policies), allowing members to respond with non-military aid. Ireland's
constitution prohibits participating in such a common defence. With the launch of
Permanent Structured Cooperation (PESCO) in defense at the end of 2017, the EU's activity on military matters has increased. The policy was designed to be inclusive and allows states to opt in or out of specific forms of military cooperation. That has allowed most of the neutral states to participate, but opinions still vary. Some members of the Irish Parliament considered Ireland's joining PESCO as an abandonment of neutrality. It was passed with the government arguing that its opt-in nature allowed Ireland to "join elements of PESCO that were beneficial such as counter-terrorism, cybersecurity and peacekeeping... what we are not going to be doing is buying aircraft carriers and fighter jets". Malta, as of December 2017, is the only neutral state not to participate in PESCO. The Maltese government argued that it was going to wait and see how PESCO develops to see whether it would compromise Maltese neutrality.
Neutrality during World War II Many countries made neutrality declarations during
World War II. However, of the European states closest to the war, only
Andorra,
Ireland,
Portugal,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland (with
Liechtenstein), and
Vatican City (the
Holy See) remained neutral to the end. Their fulfillment to the letter of the rules of neutrality has been questioned: Ireland supplied important secret information to the
Allies; for instance, the date of
D-Day was decided on the basis of incoming Atlantic
weather information, some of it supplied by Ireland but kept from Germany. Ireland also secretly allowed Allied aircraft to use the
Donegal Corridor, making it possible for British planes to attack German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic. On the other hand, both Axis and Allied pilots who crash landed in Ireland were interned. Sweden and Switzerland, surrounded by possessions and allies of
Nazi Germany similarly made concessions to Nazi requests as well as to Allied requests. Sweden was also involved in intelligence operations with the Allies, including listening stations in Sweden and espionage in Germany. Spain offered to join the war on the side of Nazi Germany in 1940, allowed Axis ships and submarines to use its ports, imported war materials for Germany, and sent a Spanish
volunteer combat division to aid the Nazi war effort. Portugal officially stayed neutral, but actively supported both the Allies by providing overseas naval bases, and Germany by selling
tungsten. The United States was initially neutral and bound by the
Neutrality Acts of 1936 not to sell war materials to belligerents. Once war broke out,
US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt persuaded Congress to replace the act with the
Cash and carry program that allowed the US to provide military aid to the allies, despite opposition from non-interventionist members. The "Cash and carry" program was replaced in March 1941 by
Lend-Lease, effectively ending the US pretense of neutrality. Sweden also made concessions to the German Reich during the war to maintain its neutrality, the biggest concession was to let the
163rd German Infantry Division to be transferred from Norway to Finland by Swedish trains, to aid the Finns in the
Continuation War. The decision caused a political "
Midsummer Crisis" of 1941, about
Sweden's neutrality. Equally, Vatican City made various diplomatic concessions to the Axis and Allied powers alike, while still keeping to the rules of the
Law of Neutrality. The Holy See has been criticized—but largely exonerated later—for its silence on moral issues of the war.
Imperialism and anti-imperialism Neutrality and neutral countries have been an important but also challenging element in the history of
imperialist power-play, as a space for the formation of
internationalism and various
anti-imperialisms.{{cite book | title=Propaganda and Neutrality: Global Case Studies in the 20th Century | chapter=Neutrality and (anti-)Imperialism. Multinational propaganda competition in neutral Macau == List of countries proclaiming to be neutral ==