Abstract: This article explores the hypothesis that in the last decade of Joseph Broz Tito’s life, Bulgaria and Austria faced common challenges in their relations with neighboring Yugoslavia. An influential group of Yugoslav leaders in the 1960s and 1970s viewed Austria and Bulgaria in the same way – as an opportunity to achieve a territorial expansion of Yugoslavia at their expense. It thus appears that Belgrade had a similar attitude toward Vienna and Sofia, even though they were on different sides of the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. For this reason, before and after the death of Tito, Bulgaria discovered several common interests with Austria. The Bulgarian Embassy in Vienna maintained unchanged assessment that “the problems that exist between the two countries on the minority issue make Austria our natural ally in our dispute with Yugoslavia”. As a result of the present article can be drawn preliminary conclusions that the common interest was recognized by both Sofia and Vienna. 

Key words: Austria, Bulgaria, Cold War, Austro-Bulgarian relations, “Macedonian” issue, “Carinthian” issue.

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