Brussels, 28/02/2000 (Agence Europe) - The new Austrian finance minister, Karl-Heinz Grasser, member of Jörg Haider's Freedom Party, was given a cool welcome on Monday at the Ecofin Council. The Portuguese minister and President-in-Office Joaquim Pina Moura simply "noted the presence of a new Austrian minister", before recalling that the European Union was an "area of democracy and freedom" founded on the "fight against any form of intolerance, discrimination or exclusion". He went on to specify: "It is our determination to defend the values of the Union and confidence in its future". It should also be noted that the Belgian and French ministers, Mr Didier Reynders and Christian Sautter, arrived at the session with a crossed bow tie on the back of their jackets (the Austrian Chancellor, Conservative Wolfgang Schüssel, is fond of this article of clothing).
During a press conference, Mr Grasser refused to comment on this gesture by Mr Reynders and Mr Sautter, simply saying that some of his colleagues had been "cautious", while others had shaken his hand. He said he was "confident" about the future, and even predicted "normalisation of relations between Austria and its partners". Considering that some measures taken against his country are "not fair" and that European integration cannot move forward without "constructive cooperation", he expressed the hope that Vienna's partners would soon open up to his country again. As far as he is concerned, he hopes to "improve Austria's financial situation" and "work constructively with his colleagues" who must know that he "approves European democratic values as a basis". In answer to questions on the euro and on the remarks attributed to Jörg Haider who is alleged to have said that it is "still born", he made it clear that it was a "wanted child" which is "very strong and stable" (although, he added, there is a "growth problem").