WRITTEN QUESTION E-0645/00 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Council. Statement by the Portuguese Presidency.
18. 4. 2001 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 113 E/1 I (Information) EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WRITTEN QUESTIONS WITH ANSWER (2001/C 113 E/001) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0645/00 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Council (13 March 2000) Subject: Statement by the Portuguese Presidency On 31 January 2000 the Portuguese Presidency published a statement on behalf of 14 EU Member States (all except Austria), in which it says that (1) no official bilateral contacts at political level with any Austrian Government involving the FPÖ are to be encouraged or accepted, (2) Austrian candidates for posts in international organisations are not to be supported, and (3) the Austrian ambassadors to the EU capitals are to be received only at technical level. Portugalís Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have also given the Austrian authorities to understand that it will not be ábusiness as usualí in bilateral relations with any government involving the FPÖ in the future. In this context I wish to ask: 1. whether the statement by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council reflects a substantial change of paradigm in relations among the Member States, which will be characterised in the future not by a spirit of cooperation among the 15 Member States, but by the opposition of 14 Member States to one; 2. whether so ádisproportionateí a reaction, a reaction that appears exaggerated, is justified in the case of a Member State which can without any doubt be described as a liberal-minded country and a stable democracy in which human rights and fundamental freedoms are guaranteed by its constitution and protected by an independent judiciary; 3. whether the Presidencyís statement should not be dismissed if only because it was issued without any prior dialogue with the Federal Austrian Government and is therefore, in fact, highly inconsistent with the European spirit of dialogue; whether the statement should not be withdrawn on the grounds that the partners in the coalition 4. have pledged to uphold the EUís fundamental values without exception. (2001/C 113 E/002) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0646/00 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Council (13 March 2000) Subject: Belgiumís and Franceís behaviour towards Austria Belgium and France are demonstratively distancing themselves from Austria at international level. Diplomats from Belgium and France boycotted the speech given by the new Austrian Foreign Minister, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna on