Austria moves closer to rejoining EU fold

Date: 01/06/2000

By Simon Taylor

AUSTRIA'S hopes of an end to its diplomatic isolation within the EU have been boosted by signs that the number of member states in favour of relaxing the sanctions is growing.

Union diplomats say signs of a shift in opinion have emerged in talks between individual leaders and Portuguese Premier Antonio Guterres, who has been canvassing opinion about a possible rethink of the boycott.

"There is a hard core of countries which do not want to see any change, but there are two other groups: one which would like to see the sanctions lifted immediately and another which would like to see some kind of exit strategy," said one.

Officials say support for softening the strategy has increased since EU foreign ministers first discussed the possibility at a meeting in the Azores earlier this month. Finnish Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen revealed last week that Union leaders were exploring ways of modifying the sanctions policy. "We are continuously holding talks to find a practical solution that we could agree upon," he said.

Two options for modifying the sanctions policy have been floated. One, put forward by Vienna, would see the diplomatic boycott suspended but with the threat that it could be reimposed if Austria fails to protect human rights or other democratic standards. The other is the Belgian idea of linking sanctions to an early warning system.

EU institutional affairs experts will meet next week to examine the plan, which has been submitted as part of the ongoing negotiations on Union treaty reform.