Austria was once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian Empire. It became a small republic after its defeat in World War I, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938, and occupied by the victorious Allies in 1945. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the occupation and recognized Austria's independence. A constitutional law that same year declared the country “permanently neutral.” But Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995 has altered the meaning of this neutrality, and today Austria is a prosperous, democratic country with strong ties to the Western Europe.