Signs of split in EU ranks over way forward

Date: 10/02/2000

By Gareth Harding

MOST EU governments believe the Union will return to 'business as usual' once the furore surrounding the presence of the far-right Freedom Party in Austria's new administration has died down.

But it remains unclear how long member states will continue their policy of freezing bilateral political contacts with Vienna, given the open-ended nature of the warning they delivered before Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel's coalition government was sworn in late last week.

Schüssel said this week that the EU had "manoeuvred us, but also itself, into a very complex situation", adding: "Now we all have to try and find a way out."

Vienna is hoping to get itself out of the hole it is now in by adopting a business-as-usual approach and diplomats say that, behind the political rhetoric, many of the country's Union partners are preparing to do the same. But a handful are maintaining a tough line both in public and in private.

Signs of a split in the EU's ranks emerged this week when the Portuguese presidency announced that it had invited a far-right minister to attend an informal meeting of Union social affairs ministers in Lisbon this weekend, and intended to do the same for all other informal get-togethers during its term at the EU's helm. It has, however, cancelled the traditional 'family photograph' and social events planned for the meeting.

A spokesman for Belgian Employment Minister Laurette Onkelinx said she regretted the invitation and would snub her Austrian counterpart at the meeting, adding: "She will treat her as if she did not exist."

But Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres defended his decision, insisting that "the Union's work must not be called into question because this would mean we are taking sanctions against the EU itself rather than the Austrian government".

Many have also expressed misgivings about the approach taken by the Union's 14 other member states, which does not set any time limit on the freeze in bilateral relations - which began the moment the new government took office - or set out any conditions for lifting it.

Despite the initial outcry which greeted the formation of the coalition, most national officials this week tried to dampen down fears that the bilateral action taken by governments would have a knock-on effect on EU business.

They point out that Austrian ministers will continue to take their seats at both formal and informal meetings, the country's voting rights in the Council of Ministers will not be affected and Austrian officials will still participate in the weekly meetings of Union ambassadors in Brussels and the hundreds of EU committees which conduct much of the bloc's business.

"Nothing has changed whatsoever," claimed one Austrian diplomat, adding: "The relationship between our ambassador and his colleagues is even more amicable than it was before."

The dilemma facing the Union has been underlined by the balancing act which the European Commission is having to perform in the wake of last week's events.

Given that the EU treaty makes no provision for member states to act against one of their number unless there is evidence of "serious and persistent' breaches of the Union's fundamental principles, the Commission has been forced to take a more even-handed approach than governments to the political developments in Austria.

President Romano Prodi issued a statement this week congratulating Schüssel on his appointment as chancellor, as is customary when a new government takes office in an EU country, but also urging him to maintain Austria's commitment to the construction of Europe and the Union's "common values".

Most EU governments believe the Union will return to 'business as usual' once the furore surrounding the presence of the far-right Freedom Party in Austria's new administration has died down.