EU plan to end freeze on Austria backfires

An initiative aimed at ending the diplomatic freeze between Austria and its 14 EU partners looks set to backfire amid Austrian outrage at the prospect of being monitored by the European Court of Human Rights.

Under the plan, the Prime Minister of Portugal, which hands over the six-month EU presidency tomorrow, would ask the President of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg to nominate three people who would monitor how Austria's right-wing government is upholding European values.

The monitors would pay special attention to the treatment of minorities, asylum-seekers and immigrants, as well as "the evolution of the political nature" of the junior partner in Vienna's government, the far-right Freedom Party. But there is no proposal to suspend the sanctions imposed on Austria in January or to set a time-limit to the monitoring process.

The Austrian chancellor, Dr Wolfgang Schussel, declined to comment on the Portuguese plan but the former leader of the Freedom Party, Mr Jorg Haider, rejected it as a tactic to delay the government's plan to hold a referendum on the sanctions later this year. "I believe that the government would be well advised, not only to analyse it closely but also to refuse to be diverted from its plan to hold a referendum," he said.

The Freedom Party has seen its popularity plummet in recent months as the government has introduced painful economic reforms. Political analysts say that Dr Haider, who remains the dominant figure in his party, hopes to use the referendum as a platform for his populist rhetoric.

Dr Schussel, who reluctantly agreed to the referendum proposal, has been seeking a compromise with Austria's EU partners that would allow the European Commission to monitor his government's commitment to human rights for a limited period. The fact that the Portuguese plan does not include a time-scale is a major blow to the chancellor's hopes and he is under great pressure to reject the deal.

Such a move would almost certainly ensure that the sanctions will remain in place at least until the end of the year, not least because France, which takes over the EU presidency on Saturday, has ruled out taking any initiative on the issue.

The diplomatic freeze, which operates at a bilateral level and does not affect Austria's status within the EU, has little impact on the daily lives of most Austrians. But the country's isolation represents a powerful blow to national pride and newspapers such as the mass-circulation Kronenzeitung are demanding a tough response from Austria's leaders.

"The EU will have to get used to the fact that Austria is not a mixture of boy singers, ski instructors and Lipizzaner but we have learned how to defend our rights within the EU. With tough measures if necessary," the paper wrote.