Prime Minister Vanhanen and Austrian Chancellor Schüssel discuss EU issues
Joint programme to be prepared for year when both countries hold EU Presidency
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Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel and Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen (Centre) were largely in agreement on a number of issues concerning the European Union during talks at the Finnish Prime Minister’s official residence on Thursday.
Both countries are preparing for when they will hold the rotating EU Presidency in 2006.
Austria will hold the Presidency in the first six months of the year, and Finland’s turn will be from July through the end of the year.
If the EU member states ratify the new EU constitution by then, Finland and Austria will be in a key role during the transition. The countries also have to be prepared for the possibility that the constitution fails to pass in the referendums that are being held in several countries.
Schüssel called the timing "sensitive" because a number of countries, including the Czech Republic, are planning to hold a referendum in the early summer of 2006.
"It will keep the constitution question open for quite a long time. We politicians do not like question-marks. We like answers and solutions", the Austrian Chancellor said.
He said that Austria’s four main parties are in favour of ratifying the treaty. Schüssel, who is the leader of the conservative People’s Party, agrees with Vanhanen that no referendum is needed, and that the proposed constitution does not fundamentally change the character of the EU.
On the possible EU membership of Turkey, both Vanhanen and Schüssel felt that it is necessary to first hear what the European Commission says on the issue.
"We are waiting for two reports from the Commission. The first will assess Turkey’s ability to become a member of the EU. The second will study if the EU is capable of facing the consequences."
He added that the leaders of the EU countries will make a political decision at the December 2004 summit on whether or not to start membership talks with Turkey. Austria is taking a cautious view of the issue, and none of the country’s political parties were in favour of such a move during the campaign for the elections of the European Parliament.
On Wednesday evening Vanhanen and Schüssel went rowing near the Prime Minister’s residence. After their press conference they attended a crayfish dinner hosted by the Confederation of Finnish Industry and Employers.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 2.9.2004 - TODAY |
 Prime Minister Vanhanen and Austrian Chancellor Schüssel discuss EU issues |
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