AUSTRIA RATIFIES EU REFORM TREATY

UNCLAS VIENNA 000502 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/AGS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL EU AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIA RATIFIES EU REFORM TREATY 1.(U)Summary: The Austrian Parliament on April 9 ratified the EU's Lisbon Treaty by a majority vote of the governing coalition parties SPO and OVP and the opposition Greens. MPs from the far-right BZO and FPO, which opposed ratification, accused advocates of violating the Austrian constitution, ignoring popular demand for a referendum on the issue, and selling out Austrian neutrality to Brussels. The vote was preceded by a series of demonstrations in Vienna and an anti-EU treaty campaign by Austria's largest tabloid Kronenzeitung. For the ratification to become formally effective, the parliamentary upper house will have to approve the treaty and President Fischer will have to sign it. However, these steps are considered formalities. End summary. ¶2. (U) As expected, SPO, OVP and the pro-European Greens voted to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, arguing that it will make the EU more efficient, more transparent, and more democratic. Chancellor Gusenbauer (SPO) praised the new treaty as an element of the "grand European peace project." Gusenbauer further touted the EU's eastward expansion as a boon for Austria, which has reaped economic benefits as its eastern neighbors have joined. OVP party whip and former Chancellor Schuessel averred that Austria has benefited from the EU's stabilizing role in the Balkans. FM Plassnik (OVP) defended her ministry against charges by EU skeptics that it had failed to inform the public in time about the implications of the treaty for Austria. ¶3. (U) Ratification opponents within the FPO and BZO blasted the government mainly for failing to hold a national referendum on the treaty - a move they argued should have been mandatory as the treaty represents a major alteration of Austria's constitution. A BZO-sponsored citizens' petition collected some 100,000 signatures over the past month calling for such a referendum. In addition, FPO and BZO contended that the treaty would further erode Austria's coveted neutrality, deplete its valuable water resources, and oblige it to import GMO products. FPO leader Christian Strache asserted that the EU's support for recognition of Kosovo was an example of Brussels' "ill-guided" foreign policy, which Austria would have to subscribe to as a result of the treaty. Both SPO and OVP retorted that Strache's real, hidden motive was to "maneuver" Austria out of the EU. ¶4. (U) Parliament's upper house is expected to sign off on the ratification within a month. For ratification to become formally effective, President Fischer will have to sign. Fischer is believed to support ratification. Comment -------------- ¶5. (U) Austria is the eighth country to ratify the Lisbon Treaty. Critics have extensively argued that the government pressed for swift ratification for fear that the widespread, simmering anti-EU sentiments in Austria would gain further momentum. Polls regularly show that more than two thirds of Austrians remain critical of the EU, making Austria among the most skeptical EU members. Ratification may serve to move the controversial EU issues off the political agenda for a while and bring some respite for the battered SPO-OVP coalition. But chances are that the somewhat haphazard way the government handled the ratification process has only served to embolden critics to speak up even more forcefully next time. Kilner, CDA