Brussels, 04/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - There is a “great deal of convergence of views on the priorities for Europe” between the European Commission and Austria, particularly on the need to rapidly find a solution to the constitutional problem, to develop a Union energy policy, and to combat climate change, Commission President José Manuel Barroso told the press on Wednesday following a meeting with Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer. Nevertheless, there remains important work to be done to settle the few points of contention which still exist between the Commission and Vienna, such as the restrictions on foreign students' access to medical schools in Austria and the Austrian greenhouse gas quota allocation programme (PNAQ), which the Commission approved on 3 April, but with some significant reservations (see EUROPE 9400).
On the subject of the PNAQ, Messrs Barroso and Gusenbauer agreed that experts from both parties would meet again to re-examine once again the figures provided in the Austrian national plan, which led the Commission to demand a downward revision of the annual ceiling for CO2 emissions quotas. Mr Barroso stressed that this would not mean a re-examination of the Austrian plan, nor any revision of the decision of 3 April, but rather is simply a case of “checking the figures” in order to pick up any “errors” which could then be corrected. The Commission's evaluation had been “objective”, the methodology used was the same as for the other member states “and we cannot make an exception” for Austria because of any specific national circumstance, Mr Barroso said. On the issue of foreign (particularly German) students' access to medical studies in Austria (the government has introduced a quota system which is deemed discriminatory by the Commission), it has been agreed that the experts from both parties will meet in April to find a “solution based on compliance with the Treaty”. (hb)