WRITTEN QUESTION E-0646/00 by Michl Ebner (PPE-DE) to the Council. Belgium's and France's behaviour towards Austria.
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is therefore, in fact, highly inconsistent with the European spirit of dialogue; whether the statement should not be withdrawn on the grounds that the partners in the coalition 4.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 C 113 E/2 Official Journal of the European Communities EN 18. 4. 2001 10 February. Their seats remained empty during the speech. After Mrs Ferrero-Waldner, Chairman-in- Office of the OSCE, had finished speaking, the diplomats returned to the meeting. At an informal meeting of EU Ministers in Lisbon on 11 February the Employment Ministers of Belgium and France left the room as soon as their Austrian colleague took the floor. Belgium and France are clearly at great pains to introduce a new form of cooperation and a new culture of political dialogue in European and international relations. They ascribe their strategy of exclusion to their concern that human and minority rights may be in danger in Austria because of the involvement of the Freedom Party (FPÖ) in the new centre-right government in Vienna. The following questions arise in this context: 1. Does the Council intend to accept this form of cooperation from now on, whenever it sees fit? 2. The EU special summit on employment policy in March was to have been prepared at the informal Council of Employment and Social Ministers. Will important political issues ü of which the employ- ment policy is a prime example ü be pushed aside by France and Belgium in the future as soon as the opportunity arises for a hitherto very reliable partner to be excluded in a way that attracts publicity? Joint answer to Written Questions E-0645/00 and E-0646/00 (20 November 2000) The measures to which the Honourable Member refers were announced in a statement made by the Portuguese Prime Minister on behalf of the Governments of 14 Member States. That statement is not binding on the Council. The Council has not taken a view on this issue and is not therefore in a position to reply to the questions raised by the Honourable Member. (2001/C 113 E/003) WRITTEN QUESTION E-0728/00 by Jonas Sjöstedt (GUE/NGL) to the Commission (17 March 2000) Subject: Vuotos dam construction project in northern Finland There is considerable concern in northern Sweden that the Vuotos dam construction project in northern Finland may damage the environment by greatly increasing emissions of nutrients and heavy metals into the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia. It is feared, inter alia, that the methyl mercury load may increase by 20-30 %. Naturally, the level of mercury in Swedish fish would rise too. It is intended to flood 240 square kilometres of marshland. Various Swedish authorities have protested about the construction plans. Has the Commission had occasion to study this project, and have any checks been carried out as to whether it meets the requirements in the EUís Environmental Impact Assessment Directive?