Prodi to open racism centre in Vienna

Date: 02/03/2000

By Simon Taylor

EUROPEAN Commission President Romano Prodi is planning a high-profile visit to Austria for the formal opening of the EU's racism monitoring centre.

The move is seen as underlining the Commission's determination to continue monitoring the new government in Vienna to ensure that it abides by EU standards of democracy and human rights.

Prodi will attend the official opening of the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia on 7 April in Vienna. The bureau has been set up to provide EU member states with statistics on incidents of racism, analyse their causes and examine ways to deal with the problem.

News of Prodi's visit came as EU governments digested the implications of Jörg Haider's decision to resign as leader of the Freedom Party this week. While some observers saw it as an attempt to reduce international pressure on the right-wing coalition, others regarded it as a cynical ploy and member states refused to drop their diplomatic sanctions against Austria.

They insisted that the decision to freeze bilateral relations with Vienna was directed at the whole of the Freedom Party and not just one individual. "For the moment, our position remains the same. The key question is not the personality of Haider. It is the nature of his party," said Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, who spearheaded last month's action by the EU's 14 other member states.

But Italy's Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini said he hoped Haider's departure would help bring Austria more into line with EU thinking.

Haider's resignation came as the Prodi Commission is preparing to welcome Austrian President Thomas Klestil to its headquarters in Brussels next week, despite the decision by 14 EU countries to suspend diplomatic ties with Vienna.

European Commission President Romano Prodi is planning a high-profile visit to Austria for the formal opening of the EU's racism monitoring centre. The move is seen as underlining the Commission's determination to continue monitoring the new government in Vienna to ensure that it abides by EU standards of democracy and human rights.