EUROPEAN DIARY / Jamie Smyth: The 250th celebration of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's birthday brought a deluge of musicians, music lovers and tourists to Salzburg last weekend, eager to soak up the carnival atmosphere.
The EU also decamped to the baroque city to discuss European identity, culture and the fate of the European project at its "Sound of Europe" conference.
The hope was that a little bit of Mozart magic could inspire new ideas, but at times it seemed that another Hapsburg-era genius, psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud - who celebrates his 150th anniversary this year - had taken charge of proceedings.
There was certainly angst and agonising self-examination with French prime minister Dominique de Villepin talking up the "crisis in EU decision-making", while European Commission president José Manuel Barroso was declaring the crisis over.
There was also talk of an "identity crisis" and "democratic deficit" in the EU, where citizens no longer empathised with the project's original goal to prevent war. People had forgotten what it meant to be European, while a drift towards materialism was undermining traditional European values of tolerance, human rights and diversity.
One eminent speaker quipped that if you asked an American what made up his identity, he would reply a house, a dog and a car, while European identity meant much more to people. Another speaker doubted this was true for most young Europeans.
Unfortunately, among all the "self-flagellation" and occasional back-slapping, there were few concrete ideas on how to rejuvenate Europe, except perhaps Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel's quirky suggestion of holding an EU café day when citizens could meet to talk "Europe".
While this may boost Austria's economy by attracting more tourists to Vienna's famous coffee houses, it is hardly going to stop the downward drift in support for Europe - now at 50 per cent in Eurobarometer polls.
Mr Barroso spoke of spending more EU cash on culture and education while reminding member states they are proposing cuts in support for this segment of the EU budget.
French presidential hopeful de Villepin produced the most interesting speech, touching on Europe's almost unique commitment to offer proper social services and protection to employees while listing many of its great cultural achievements. However, it was his broadside against enlargement that is likely to set the tone for the rest of 2006.
In a speech that went down exceptionally well with his Austrian hosts, de Villepin warned that Turkey was not guaranteed a passport into the EU club and even if it met enlargement criteria set by the EU, it would have to pass a French referendum.
Given the aversion to the "Polish plumber" in Paris and the failure of French politicians to campaign effectively for a Yes vote in the EU constitutional referendum, one must ask: what chance does the humble "Turkish waiter" have in a future vote?
"We must define a new global strategy for enlargement of the union and the surrounding area: membership must not be the only solution proposed to neighbouring countries," said de Villepin, regardless of the EU treaty stipulation that any European state should be allowed to join if its meets the so-called Copenhagen criteria of democracy, human rights and stable institutions.
The proposed debate on enlargement will now have to decide on where exactly Europe's boundary ends, a decision fraught with dangers. For example, the talks to decide the Balkans' future are difficult and often oiled with the lure of EU membership.
There is also the thorny issue of Ukraine and Georgia, two unstable states where the prospect of EU membership has strengthened democratic groups.
However, there is very little appetite for enlargement in old Europe. The debate on migrant workers in Ireland, which has a labour shortage and the fastest growing economy in the EU-15, shows that the concept of a European identity is often not strong enough to persuade people to open their borders.
Fewer than half of Europe's 450 million population now support further enlargement, according to the recent Eurobarometer opinion poll, which also highlights that the 10 most opposed are all part of the original EU-15.
In Salzburg, a city that will welcome two million tourists this year, there is little appetite to allow Romania and Bulgaria to join - a date is set for either 2007 or 2008. One local feared the city would be "swamped" with foreign workers.
So, while the "Sound of Europe" posed many questions, it did not provide answers, except perhaps further proof that future enlargement will be contentious and difficult.