By IPS Correspondents
BRUSSELS, Dec 30 2005 (IPS)

Austria plans to revive a Europe fraught with political crisis during 2005 when it takes over presidency of the European Union Sunday (Jan. 1).

Austria, which joined the European Union (EU) in 1995, will take over the helm of the bloc January 1 for six months, to be followed by Finland on July 1.

Six years after EU members imposed sanctions on Austria for welcoming a far right-wing party – the Freedom Party – into the government, Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel says his country will focus on reviving the bloc’s new constitutional treaty, European enlargement and the EU’s controversial budget.

The Austrian presidency faces the daunting task of conducting a promised debate on the future of the EU’s creaking institutions and the scope of future enlargement, but has indicated that it will not push for adoption of the EU constitution. The constitution fell through after it was rejected in referenda in France and the Netherlands in spring 2005.

The draft constitution intended to streamline the EU, give the bloc a permanent president and a foreign minister, and a clearer sense of purpose, procedure and identity.

The differences between European member states which became apparent when France and the Netherlands rejected the constitution will present a major challenge to the Austrian presidency.

Speaking in Brussels earlier this month, Austria’s minister for foreign affairs Ursula Plassnik said a “period of reflection” was now needed. Plassnik said her country hopes to “renew ties with a visionary Europe” and to address with “energy and confidence the pause for thought” in the European constitution.

The bloc agreed on suspension of the constitution when attempts to settle budget prospects failed in June.

Plassnik says this “pause for thought” should allow detailed debates on the EU’s future before the European Council addresses the revival of the institutions in June 2006, and insisted that Austria will not press for ratification of the text.

“There are no quick fixes and no instant answers. As far as the constitution is concerned, I don’t think that we can succeed with cosmetic changes only. That would not do justice to the great importance of this topic,” said Plassnik.

The first test for the Austrian presidency’s diplomatic skills will be negotiations with the European Parliament on the bloc’s next big spending round – or the so-called financial perspectives – covering the period 2007-2013.

Austria will have to strike a compromise with the Commission and the Parliament on the EU’s 2007-2013 budget after the European Council reached a last-minute agreement Dec. 17.

The European Parliament must sign off on the member states’ budget deal, which is 113 billion euros (133.7 billion dollars) less than members of the European Parliament (MEPs) demanded in June.

The Balkans and enlargement issues will dominate the bloc’s external relations agenda.

The EU will start talks with Bosnia-Herzegovina on the Stabilisation and Association Agreement, which could be a first step toward the EU’s enlargement into the Western Balkans.

Austria says enlargement to the Balkans states will be a “natural focus point” of its presidency, and says the foreign ministers of the EU hopefuls will be invited to an informal EU foreign ministers’ meeting in March.

In June a decision will be due whether Bulgarian and Romanian accession should be postponed from 2007 to 2008 due to delays in reforms, and the first detailed membership talks are expected with Croatia and Turkey.

However, the talks with Turkey and Croatia, which began in October, are unlikely to make much headway as the EU’s focus will be on screening legislation in the candidate countries.

Elsewhere, there will be further debate about the bloc’s controversial services guideline under which services may be offered under a firm’s home country conditions. Austria will also suggest the creation of a European Human Rights agency in Vienna..

However, Austria has indicated that it will adopt a humble stance for its time at the helm of the EU. It says that as a small country Austria will act as a “pragmatic team player” to “serve” Europe. “It is not up to every presidency to invent the wheel,” said Plassnik.

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