Brussels, 05/05/2000 (Agence Europe) - Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres, in Brussels for a CEPS conference (see below), told the press that he would not being doing the rounds of the capitals before the European Council in Santa Maria da Feira on 19 and 20 June. Such a round of the capitals will not be necessary to prepare the summit, he said, also referring to the problem of time. This has nothing to do with the problem of Austria, the President of the European Council added in answer to questions, further adding that Austria would be taking a full part in all the work at European Union level. Mr. Guterres also denied information regarding approaches in view of proposing the lifting of bilateral sanctions against Austria between now and the Feira Summit.
EUROPE has reason to believe, however, that Chancellor Schuessel said that, if the Presidency did not intend to pass by Vienna in his rounds of the capitals, he would not be going to Brussels a second time to meet Mr. Guterres, as he had done (as a sign of good faith, he is said to have stipulated) before the extraordinary summit in Lisbon on 23 and 24 March.
Extraordinary Council of Ministers in Vienna - Rumours of a "Azznar plan" in view of lifting sanctions
At the end of an extraordinary Council of Ministers, in Vienna on Wednesday, Chancellor Schuessel announced that if there was no concrete plan to lift sanctions by the end of the Portuguese Presidency, Austria would organise a popular consultation in the Autumn with the clear demand for the lifting sanctions (you may recall that Jorg Haider had launched the idea of holding such a referendum). Meanwhile, on the occasion of a ceremony in memory of the victims of nazism, the Speaker of the Austrian Parliament, Social-Democrat Heinz Fischer called on Europe to lead with determination in the fight against racism, xenophobia and antisemitism, on the basis of criteria that the Fifteen must respect "fairly and equitably".
In addition, other than the information published in "Die Welt", by which the majority of EU Member States would like to find a political "way out" to the problem of bilateral sanctions against Austria by the Feira Summit, the Austrian weekly "News" has written that Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar may propose to the European Council of Feira sending a delegation to Vienna to look into the possible lifting of sanctions on the ground (according to "News", Mr. Aznar is said to have drawn up this plan with Chancellor Schuessel, on the occasion of the EU/Africa Summit in Cairo on 3 and 4 April).