Paris/Brussels/Vienna, 13/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - The Fourteens decision, announced Tuesday evening, to lift the bilateral measures applied since last February against Austria was generally welcomed in the capitals and the European institutions, but they also raise criticisms, sometimes strong, and the exhortations to be drawn from this crisis to avoid similar situations in the future.
Below is the complete text of the Fourteen's Communiqué on 12 September:
The Fourteen have read the report submitted by the Wise Persons on the situation in Austria.
This report leads to four general conclusions- the measures implemented by the Fourteen have show themselves; - the Austrian government has not failed its undertaking towards common European values; - the measures adopted by the Fourteen would go, if they do not cease, against their aims;
-The FPÖ can be qualified as a right wing populist party with extremist characteristics and its development is uncertain;
Basing itself on the reports conclusions, the Fourteen have carried out a new examination of their bilateral relations with the Austrian government, in accordance with the procedure agreed at the end of June.
They approved the following conclusions: - the measures implemented by the Fourteen have been useful. They can now be lifted. The nature of the FPÖ and its uncertain future remain a serious cause for concern. The Fourteen consider that special attention must be paid to this party and its influence on the government in which it participates. They agreed to exercise vigilance by working together. Thus it is necessary to continue the reflection within the European Union over the way to avoid, track, asses and act in similar situations. The recommendations contained in the Wise Persons report are a useful contribution to this thought process" (see yesterday's EUROPE, p.3 and later in this bulletin over the debate by IGC preparatory group concerning Article 7 of the Treaty).
The European Commission President Romano Prodi commented on the decision by stating: "the Commission never wanted Austria to be isolated and I am glad to see sanctions lifted. But the Union must remain vigilant about extremism and xenophobia, wherever they arise in Europe. And we must learn the lessons of this episode: I hope we will agree to refine the instruments in the Treaty, to make it easier to avoid such a situation arising again. The Commission stands ready to provide any assistance it can, to ensure that the values of the Union are upheld". (unofficial translation).
The Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Louis Michel, welcomed, in New York, the lifting of the sanctions, while underlining the "driving role" played by Belgium in this affair and by asserting that, without the measures taken by the Fourteen, the entry into the Austrian government of "populist and xenophobic parties would have been white washed". According to him, this crisis shows that the defence of the valued included in the EU Treaty is "a joint responsibility and must from now on be the object of active monitoring". In Denmark, with the publication of the Communiqué from the Elysée, the Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen announced that he was lifting the sanctions "with immediate effect".
In the European Parliament, Ursula Stenzel, OVP member of Chancellor Schüssel, announced: "I cannot claim that I am delighted with the lifting of sanctions, because we must not rejoice for something that goes without saying (…) I now hope that we will look into a procedure" which will prevent in the future to the imposing of sanctions such as these. The President of the Socialist group Enrique Baron, while welcoming the work by the Wise Person, felt that the position taken by the Fourteen has "prevented the normalisation of the extreme right in power". It is now necessary, he added, "that we better express ourselves in our Treaties both over joint values and actions to take in case of their violation. Action taken within the Community are infinitely preferable to bilateral measures". Harlem Desir, French member of the EP socialist group, stated: since the publication off the Wise Persons report "the extreme right has never been so triumphant in Austria (…) It is one of the lessons from the last fifteen years in the fight against the National front in France: only firmness over time gives dividends". Mr Desire also called for the IGC to achieve a reinforcing of Article 7 with regards to countries 'that break or which will break, after enlargement, with the founding values of the Union".
In Washington, the spokesman for the State Department pointed out, after the announcement made at the Elysée, that the United States will maintain its selective diplomatic contacts policy with Austria applied since the formation of the ÖVP/FPÖ government, namely a "flexible" approach providing for contacts with Vienna on questions "of direct concern to us".
On the other hand, Canada, which had limited most political and diplomatic contacts with Vienna, lifted its sanctions. In Israel (which had recalled its ambassador from Austria, in February this year, for an indeterminate duration), the spokesman of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs said that "Our policy remains the same".