AUSTRIA: Austrian chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel said he wanted to restore the "impetus" and "verve" of the EU yesterday as he laid out his strategy as president of the union.
Mr Schüssel's plans include restarting debate on the EU constitution and enlargement; getting a political agreement on the services directive; and moving ahead with a plan to harmonise the corporate tax base in the EU - a proposal strongly opposed by Ireland.
After several hours of talks with the European Commission to mark Austria's accession to the EU presidency, Mr Schüssel said a political deal on the controversial services directive was possible by June. The proposed directive, which would make it easier for firms to offer services across the union's national borders without establishing operations in each member state, is highly contentious. Unions fear it will undercut wages in richer states, while French president Jacques Chirac last year blamed it for the No vote in the referendum on the EU constitution.
Mr Schüssel said he would invite the social partners in Europe to help find a solution to the text of the directive, which has been debated for two years without significant progress.
The European Parliament is to vote on the directive in February and the commission plans to redraft the text in time for a summit of EU leaders in March.
Austria also signalled it would move ahead with a plan to harmonise the corporate tax base in the EU, a move vociferously opposed by Ireland and Britain.
Austrian finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser said he thought between 17 and 22 states would proceed with the plan to co-ordinate the way member states calculate corporate tax.
Ireland fears this will be the first step towards harmonising tax rates and could hurt its ability to attract inward investment.
Meanwhile, Mr Schüssel said the EU constitution was "not dead" and Austria would begin a debate on how to move forward.
He said Austria would consult all member states about how to cope with the rejection of the EU constitution by French and Dutch voters last year.
Austria would provide an interim report in June to provide a road map on how to address the institutional problems that could emerge as the EU expands further, said Mr Schüssel.
The constitution would provide the EU with its first foreign minister, boost the powers of the European Parliament and amend voting procedures for states.
Mr Schüssel said the debate on the constitution should not be focused purely on institutional concerns. "If we really want to have a psychological climate change and a relaunch of the EU, then we have to address people's concerns first," he said.
His comments were echoed by commission president José Manuel Barroso, who warned against opening new rifts in Europe over institutions.
Despite his reservations about EU enlargement, Mr Schüssel said that as president of the EU he would act in an objective fashion regarding Turkey's bid to join. He said future enlargement was possible, but this had to be in compliance with EU requirements.