WRITTEN QUESTION P-1746/00

by José Ribeiro e Castro (UEN) to the Commission

(25 May 2000)

Subject: Framework for the sanctions against Austria Commission report

It was recently publicly reported that the Austrian Chancellor, Mr Wolfgang Schüssel, has asked the Commission to draw up a rigorous report on the situation in Austria with reference to the sanctions agreed and in force against Austria in the context of the EU. This report is to be prepared in time for the forthcoming European Council, to be held in Santa Maria da Feira on 19 and 20 June 2000.

The framework for these sanctions, as well as their basis in law and fact, is extremely unclear; at certain moments it has been stated that they should be confined strictly to the level of bilateral relations between Austria and the 14 other Member States. However, the disturbances which have occurred at summits and other meetings in the practical functioning of the EU institutions at the highest level of the Council, a number of decisions adopted by majority vote in the European Parliament, and the simple fact that the sanctions were announced by the Council Presidency rather than as individual declarations by each of the 14 other Member States, within the strict limits of bilateral relations as such have confirmed that we are dealing with a policy which belongs, unambiguously, to the framework of the Union and its operations.

The framework laid down by the Treaties in this respect is quite clear: it is defined in Articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU). It is stated in Article 7(1) of the TEU that the Commission is one of the EU bodies competent to report and to propose measures that it considers suitable.

It had generally been thought that the present moment was one of the enlargement of the Union, not of its contraction a time for the affirmation of fundamental rights, not for riding roughshod over them. Among other things, the Treaties need to respected by all: any breach of the Treaties or failure to respect them can only have adverse consequences of unforeseeable amplitude, as the long and painful course of history has confirmed when the settlement of international disputes is in question. Respect for the Treaties is, indeed, a fundamental element of the rule of law, with which the Union as a whole, its bodies and its Member States are obliged to comply to the highest degree (Article 6(1) of the TEU).

Can the Commission state whether, in conformity with the Treaties and the rule of law, it intends to act on the request of the Austrian Chancellor, Mr Wolfgang Schüssel, for a rigorous report to be drawn up on the situation in Austria, in time for the summit to be held on 19/20 June 2000?

Joint answer to Written Questions P-1746/00 and P-1823/00 given by Mr Prodi on behalf of the Commission

(3 August 2000)

As the Commission has already stated in reply to several questions by Members of the Parliament, the bilateral measures taken by the governments of 14 Member States with regard to the government coalition in Austria are not matters relating to the EU-Treaty or EC-Treaty and do not affect the rights and obligations of any Member State under Community law.

The Commission also repeatedly stated that it will continue to accomplish its role as the guardian of the provisions and values set down in the Treaties and on which the Union is founded and that it confirms its determination to do so.

As the Honourable Member will be aware, a report on the Austrian Government's compliance with the European Union's shared values is being drawn up, at the request of the Member States, by three leading figures appointed by the President of the European Court of Human Rights.